Universal Switch!
by Southern Shinigami
Summary: Finally, Chapter 9 is up, and we are BACK! Naruto Uzumaki wakes up... in Karakura Town? In the body of... Ichigo Kurosaki? And if he's there, then that means... Uh-oh... What in the hell is going on? Interested yet? Read and Review, my good people!
1. Freaky Friday without the Friday

**Disclaimer**: **Naruto** was created by **Masashi Kishimoto**, published in **Shonen Jump** magazine, and distributed by **Aniplex** and **TV Tokyo**, in Japan and **Viz Media**, in the US. **Bleach** was created by **Tite Kubo**, published by **Shonen Jump** magazine, and distributed by **TV Tokyo**, in Japan, and **Viz Media**, in the US. To put it plainly, I don't own any of it. How I wish I did, though...

**A/N:** Hey everyone, It's Southern Shinigami. I know I've got another fic out there, that hasn't been worked on, but it's cool. It's actually being re-worked, into something better (hopefully). So, that won't be my official return to Fanfiction. This one, on the other hand, will be. This one's on the fly, and I'm not sure how it's gonna work, but read, review, and give me some honest feedback. Anyways, here it is. Hope you enjoy it!!

* * *

**Universal Switch** by Southern Shinigami

**Chapter 1**: Freaky Friday... without the Friday

* * *

The sun shined through the window, as morning crept up on the town. Outside, birds could be heard chirping, people could be heard moving towards their destinations. The hustle and bustle of the morning rush woke up 15 year-old Naruto Uzumaki from his slumber, with a slight headache. "Ohhhh..." he said, rubbing his right temple. "What a night. How'd I get here, dattebayo? Last I remember I was at Ichiraku Ramen with Iruka-sensei. I don't remember anything after that." He opened his eyes, after rubbing them, to see that he was not in his own place. "Huh?" He looked around the room. "This doesn't look like Iruka-sensei's place." He looked to his left to see a stuffed lion on the floor. "And he doesn't have stuffed animals, dattebayo. Where am I?" Suddenly, Naruto's wondering and questioning of where he was was interrupted by the immediately annoying yell of a much older, yet unidentifiable man.

"GOOOOOD MORNNNINGGGGG, ICHIGOOOOOOOO!"

Naruto turned towards the window to see a middle-aged man, wearing blue jeans, a button-down shirt, and a doctor's coat, barreling towards the window, feet first. _Oh crap!_, he thought. _What the hell? Okay, I'll just use a Substitution Jutsu to avoid it._ Unfortunately, it didn't work. _What? What's happening? Why can't I sub out?_ He reached for his kunai and shuriken. _Fine, I'll just reach for my-_ Only to find that they weren't there. _What? Where are my ninja tools? What's going on here? _The man was getting closer, and picking up speed. "Oh, what the hell!!" At the last minute, Naruto moved out of the way, and avoided the insane man's missile drop kick.

The man crashed into a wall, and was bent forward. "Ohhhh..." the man moaned.

"YOU DOBE!" Naruto yelled angrily, as he put his foot on the man's face. "WHO SENT YOU?"

"Sent me? What are you talking about?" The man said. "I was just testing you, my chakunan."

"WHAT IN THE HELL? I'M NOT YOUR SON! AND IF I WERE, WHAT KIND OF PERSON ATTACKS THEIR OWN SON, WHILE THEY'RE STILL IN BED?"

"What? What do you mean you're not my son, Ichigo?"

"Ichigo?" Naruto said, confused. "Who's Ichigo?" Naruto let the man up from the floor.

"You're Ichigo, Ichigo." The man said, as he got up, and pulled a picture out of his wallet. "See? This is you and your family!" He looked at the picture, to see four people in it. The man pointed to the people in the picture. First, to himself, wearing an outfit similar to what he was wearing now. His face had black spiky hair, black eyes, and a five o'clock shadow. "That's me, Isshin Kurosaki, your dad." Then to the little girl, with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a yellow dress. "These are your shimai, Yuzu," and the to the other girl, with black hair and black eyes, wearing a hat, a white and purple shirt and blue shorts. "and Karin." Finally, he pointed to the young man with orange hair, brown eyes, wearing a grey jacket and grey pants. "And that's you, Ichigo Kurosaki!"

Naruto looked at the man, like he was insane. _This guy's nuts!_ He thought. _That looks nothing like me! _"Sorry, jiji." He said. "But, that looks nothing like me!"

Isshin looked at Naruto confused. "What are you talking about?" He, then, pulled out a mirror and showed it to him. "You look just like the picture!" Naruto looked in the mirror, to see a wide-eyed version... of the person Isshin had showed him in the picture. _What the? What in the world? _Isshin was right. Gone was the blond hair, blue eyes, facial whiskers, and Konoha hitai-ate. Instead was everything that Isshin had showed him. _That's not me! _He thought. _This is the fox's doing! It has to be! Hey Fox!_, he said to himself._ What's goin' on here? What did you do to me?_ He heard no response. _Fox, wake up! You there?_ Still, no response. Then, he tried to feel for the fox, but felt nothing. _Fox? Foooooox?_ Nothing. Kyubi no Yoko wasn't there. Naruto's eyes, suddenly, showed fear and uncertainty. "What the hell? Wha-what's goin' on here?"

"Ichigo, are you okay?" Isshin said, with concern.

"My-my-my name's not Ichigo... it's-it's-it's Na-" was all he could get out before he fainted, landing on the bed.

"Ichigo, you okay?" Isshin said. "Ichigo? IchiGOOOOOOOO!!"

* * *

**Meanwhile, in another realm...**

"Ohhh man." Ichigo Kurosaki said as he woke up. "My head hurts. Last thing I remember, I was with Chad, Rukia, Inoue, Tatsuki, Ishida, and the others. What did we do last night?" He opened his eyes fully, to see that he was not in his own room. "What the hell? Whose place is this?" It didn't look like anyone's place he recognized. He looked to his right, to see a picture on the end table. He picked up the picture, to see four people: a silver-haired man with one-eye, a black haired, black eyed boy wearing a blue shirt, a pink haired girl wearing a pink dress, and a blond haired, blue eyed boy with whiskers, wearing an orange jumpsuit. They were all wearing the same emblem on their head. _They must be some kind of gang or something._ He thought. _Was I captured by a gang? Geez, those guys really hate my hair. They don't give up!_ As he got up, suddenly someone came through the window.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" It was an older version of the pretty pink-haired girl from the picture. "You missed practice! Yamato-sensei isn't happy about that."

Ichigo looked at her like she grew two heads. "What did you just call me?" He asked.

"I called you by your name, you dobe." The girl said. "What's up with you today, Naruto?"

"That's my line, first of all." Ichigo replied. "Secondly, who in the hell are you, and more importantly, who the hell is Naruto?"

Now it was the girl's turn to look at him, like he had two heads. "What are you talking about, Naruto? I'm Sakura, remember? Sakura Haruno? We've been teammates for over five years, and known each other, even more."

Ichigo was confused. "What are you talkin' about? I've never seen you around Karakura Town or the Soul Society. Who the hell are you?"

"Karakura Town? Soul Society?" Sakura replied. "Naruto, what are you talking about?"

"And stop callin' me a fishcake." He said. "My name is Ichigo Kurosaki."

"And callin' you a strawberry is a step up, you dobe? You really are nuts." She fired back.

"Now, listen up lady, " he said, making Sakura realize that something was up. Naruto would never snap at her like that, at all. "My name is Ichigo. Not some baka named Naruto."

"Lady?" she said with concern, approaching him. "Don't you know me at all, Naruto?" She picked up the picture next to him. "Look, see the one with the pink hair? That's me, five years ago."

"I figured that out, when you jumped through the window."

She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, the raven-haired one, wearing blue, is Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura hoped that that would jog his memory. _I know he won't forget him._ But...

"So what? What about him?" He said, with an attitude.

That comment shocked her. _Oh my... Naruto would NEVER say that... _"Um okay." Then she pointed to the older one in the photo. "The one with the grey hair, looking like a scarecrow, is our Jonin sensei, Kakashi Hatake." Finally, she pointed to him. "And the last one in the picture, with the blond hair and the orange jumpsuit, is you, Naruto Uzumaki."

Ichigo gave her the two-headed look again. "You're insane! That's not me. My hair's orange and my eyes are brown."

Sakura gave him that look back. "No, it isn't. You have blond hair and blue eyes." She pulled him in front of his mirror, and he saw that she was totally right.

_What the hell? That's not me!! _Ichigo got in closer to her. "What kind of sick joke is this?"

"What?" Sakura said, a little frightened. "W-what are you talking about?"

"Was it Keigo? Huh? Is this payback for not hanging out with him?" He said, freaking out.

"What? Keigo? Who the hell is that?" She yelled back.

"Or was it Renji? I swear, I'll get that teme!!"

"Naruto, who the hell are these people?"

"And stop calling me Naruto, Pinky! It's Ichigo! Ichigo Kurosaki!!"

There it was. Sakura had had enough. "NA-RU-TOOOOOOO!!"

"I told you, that's not-" was all he got out, as she knocked his lights out.

* * *

**Back at the Kurosaki Clinic/Residence in Karakura Town...**

"Is he okay?"

"I don't know. He just fainted."

"He fainted, huh? Did you attack him when he woke up, again?"

"Well... uh... maybe..."

"You really should stop that, you baka."

"I-I-I'm just-"

"It's not his fault Ichigo didn't notice him."

"HA! See Karin? Yuzu agrees!!"

"Guys, shut up. He's waking up."

"B-B-But Karin!"

"He's waking up!"

Naruto, or Ichigo as they see him, woke up from his slumber, holding his head. "Ohhh... my head." His eyes focused to see all of the people from the picture. "AAAAHHHHH!! I'M STILL HERE!!"

"Ichigo! Calm down!" the blond haired girl replied.

"Not you, too!" Naruto/Ichigo replied. "My name's not Ichigo! It's Naruto! NA-RU-TO!" He looked around at surroundings, where he saw a few chairs, a couch, and a television set. On the wall, he saw a large poster of a beautiful woman, with the name, 'Masaki Kurosaki' under them.

"You see? You see?" Isshin said. "He thinks he's some guy named 'Fishcake'!"

The dark-haired little girl, Karin, shook her head in shame of her father. "You moron. It's not a translated name. He claims his name is Naruto."

Naruto/Ichigo grinned. "See? She believes me."

"I never said that, Ichigo."

He facevaulted. "Come on! You just said that-"

"I just said that your name isn't something as ridiculous as 'Fishcake', that's all." Karin replied. "I never agreed with you."

He sighed. "You're killin' me here."

Suddenly, the door opened, and in came a young lady, with black hair and black eyes. As soon as she walked into the room, he felt something from her. Some kind of power. _Who is that? And why am I feeling a strange energy from her? That's not chakra, I can say that much._ He thought.

"Hello everyone." The woman said. "Am I interrupting anything?"

Isshin turned, looked at her, and smiled. "Ah, hello Rukia!" He replied. "Don't worry, it's nothing. Just trying to talk some sense into Ichigo, here."

"How many times do I have to tell you?!" Naruto/Ichigo said angrily. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, from Konoha!"

_Konoha?_ Rukia thought. _Where have I heard that name before? _"Ichigo didn't bump his head, did he?"

"He's physically fine, Rukia." Isshin replied. "He's just thinks he's some guy named Fishcake."

"The name is Naruto, not Fishcake, otousan." Karin, again, reminded him.

Rukia Kuchiki walked up to him and stared at him for a few minutes. _Hmmm..._ She thought. _He looks like Ichigo. So, why is he claiming to be-_ Suddenly, she felt a surge of power. _What the? What is this power? This isn't reiatsu? I've never felt this before. What is it?_

"Is something wrong, Rukia?" Yuzu asked her.

"No, Yuzu." She replied. _I need to figure out what's wrong with Ichigo, and what's this power I'm getting from him_. "Everything's okay. Hey,. Kurosaki-San?"

"Yes, Rukia?"

She smiled at him. "Mind if I have a some time alone with Ichigo? Maybe I can jog his memory."

Angrily, Naruto/Ichigo said, "Hey! Is anybody listening to me? I said I'm Naru-"

"Sure, Rukia!" Isshin said, smiling. "Anything for you, dear. Come on, girls!"

"Okay, Father!" Yuzu followed Isshin out of the door. Karin was almost out, when she turned to Rukia. "He'll be okay. Right, Rukia?"

She nodded. "Yes, Karin. He'll be okay. I'll try to jog his memory." Karin smiled, as she walked out of the room, leaving Naruto/Ichigo and Rukia. "Alright, Ichigo. What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" I'm fine. And my name's not Ichigo, damnit. It's Naruto!"

_So, he's sticking to his story, even with me._ She thought. "Okay then. If your name is, indeed, Naruto Uzumaki, then tell me this. Where is Ichigo Kurosaki?"

Naruto looked at her, like she made no sense. "Who's that? I've never heard that name here in Konoha."

_Konoha. There's that name again. Why does that sound so familiar? _"Um, this isn't Konoha."

"What?" he said, hysterically. "Then where am I? Sunagakure no Sato? Yukigakure no Sato ?"

She sighed. "You are in a suburb town of Tokyo, Japan. You are in Karakura Town."

"WHAT?!" He yelled. "This isn't Konohagakure no Sato or Hi no Kuni?"

She looked at him, confused. "Village Hidden in the Leaves? Land of Fire? What in the world are you-" Suddenly, Rukia's Soul Pager went off. "Uh oh."

"What?" Naruto/Ichigo asked.

"We got trouble." She said, as she put on a blue glove, with a flaming skull. At least, Ichigo's soul is the same. "Come on, let's go." Rukia rushed him, with the glove, at his forehead, pushing Ichigo's Shinigami form out of his body.

Or so it should have...

The soul she pushed out wasn't one of a orange-haired, brown eyed, fifteen year-old, wearing a shihakushō, with the zanpakuto, Zangetsu on his back. Instead, it was a blond-haired, blue eyed, sixteen year-old, with facial marks, resembling whiskers, wearing an orange and black jumpsuit. On his forehead, was a hitai-ate, with a metal plate in the middle. In the center of that plate, was a swirling emblem, with an pointed arrow, resembling a leaf.

_Oh Kami..._ Rukia Kuchiki thought, as she came to the realization that... _He was telling the truth. That's not Ichigo!!_

"What the hell?" Naruto said "What the hell just happened?"

* * *

**Meanwhile, somewhere else...**

_Where the hell am I? Am I dead? Did I die, when that pink girl punched me? _Ichigo thought. _This doesn't look like the Seireitei or the Rukongai area. _He wondered around , what seemed like a dark red sewer, for what seemed like hours to him. This time, however, he was in his shihakushō, complete with his Zanpakuto, Zangetsu. Suddenly, he came to a giant gate with a tag on the middle of it, that said "seal". _What in the world is this? _As he walked up to attempt to touch the cage, a loud roar came from the direction of the cage, and the figure of a giant, demonic-looking fox appeared before him. The fox had a very evil-looking grin.

"**Kit? Is that you? Your energy is different." **the fox said** "What is it that you want?**

"'Kit'? What in the hell are you talking about?" A confused Ichigo asked. "Who, or what in the hell are you?"

The fox looked down at the subsitute shinigami. **"What? You are not my jailer, Naruto? Who are you, and why are you here?"**

Ichigo smirked at the creature, not showing any fear(and he had some, that's for sure). "Isn't it improper to ask someone their name, without telling yours first?"

"**Heh heh heh. Such impudence, you remind me of my kit. Very well, then. I am the Kyubi no Yoko. I am the most powerful force in all of the world."** the Kyubi remarked. **"Now, tell me. Who are you?"**

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki." he replied. "Now, that the introductions are out of the way, tell me what are you, where am I, and how did I get here."

The Kyubi's grin got bigger(if that's at all possible).** "Did you not hear me? I am the Kyubi no Yoko. I am a very powerful force. We are in my prison, the body of the child of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. The body of Naruto Uzumaki."**

Ichigo was clearly confused. "Okay. Now. How did I get here, and how do I get-"

"**SILENCE!! I have a question now."** the fox demanded. **"You have tremendous power, but it is not Chakra, it's Reiatsu. So, my question is, are you here to take me, Shinigami?"**

"What? What are you talking about?" he said, even more confused.

"**You are wearing a shihakushō , and your Zanpakuto is released in its Shikai form."** Kyubi said. "**I can even hear it's name. Zangetsu, is it? You should be informed that that will not defeat me."**

Ichigo smirked. "Well then. If that's the case," he said as he pointed his Zanpakuto towards him, "then how about this? BAN-"

It grinned, and interrupted him. **"So, you have achieved Bankai, yet you are not a captain. Interesting. I have much to ask you and your Zanpakuto. But, perhaps later." **

"What? What do you mean?"

"**Because, you are about to rejoin the world of the living."**

* * *

**A/N**: So, our two heroes are in each other's dimensions... in each other's bodies! So far, Ichigo's met Sakura and the Kyubi no Yoko, and Naruto's met the Kurosaki clan and Rukia. What in the world can happen next? Who else will Ichigo meet in Konoha? Will he have to fight the enemies of the Leaf? Who else will Naruto meet in Karakura? Will he visit Soul Society? Come on back to find out next week!!

Oh, here's some translations for you:

Kyubi no Yoko: The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox

Hitai-ate: Forehead Protector

shihakushō: Traditional Shinigami outfit

chakunan: Eldest son

shimai: Sisters

Yukigakure no Sato: Village Hidden in the Snow(from Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow)

Jiji: Old man

Anyways, the next episode will be up in a week or so, so read and review. I like criticism and any ideas you might think could work. Don't mind flames either. They only fill up my Power of Youth!! Believe it!


	2. Meet your new friends I think

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Naruto, Don't own Bleach. Just someone having some fun, with a kooky idea.

**Quick A/N**: Okay, no reviews just yet. But, it's cool. I know the story is just starting. There will be villains and a plot, as well as silliness. So, just check it out, and if you have any ideas, feel free to send 'em. Thanks!

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**Universal Switch!! by Southern Shinigami**

**Episode 2: Meet your new Friends... I think...**

* * *

_Last time..._

"_**You have tremendous power, but it is not Chakra, it's Reiatsu. So, my question is, are you here to take me, Shinigami?"**_

"_What? What are you talking about?" he said, even more confused._

"_**You are wearing a shihakushō , and your Zanpakuto is released in its Shikai form."** Kyuubi said. "**I can even hear it's name. Zangetsu, is it? You should be informed that that will not defeat me."**_

_Ichigo smirked. "Well then. If that's the case," he said as he pointed his Zanpakuto towards him, "then how about this? BAN-"_

_It grinned, and interrupted him. **"So, you have achieved Bankai, yet you are not a captain. Interesting. I have much to ask you and your Zanpakuto. But, perhaps later." **_

"_What? What do you mean?"_

"_**Because, you are about to rejoin the world of the living."**_

_Now..._

"What are you talking about?" He said, but not to the Kyuubi, but to the seven sets of eyes, in front of him. "Huh? Where am I now? How did I get here?"

"Sakura carried you here, Naruto." A man wearing a green vest and a grey jumpsuit, with disheveled hair and black eyes told him.

"Naruto?" He said, before he turned to the pink-haired kunoichi, Sakura. "Hey Pinky, didn't I tell you that that's not my name?"

Everyone looked at him, like he had just assassinated the Feudal Lord, and were all thinking the same thing. 'Naruto would've never called Sakura 'Pinky', let alone left the 'Chan' honorific off her name.' And they all saw Sakura get very angry at the 'Pinky' comment.

"NAAA-RUUU-TOOO!!" Sakura yelled, as she started to throw a punch at him, only to be stopped by a tall, buxom blonde woman, wearing a green haori.

"Hold it, Sakura." She said, before turning to the body of her gaki. "If you are not Naruto, then, might I ask, who exactly are you?"

_Whoa, she's hotter than Inoue, Rangiku, and Rukia combined! _He thought. Ichigo/Naruto smirked. "Heh. You guys too, huh. It's improper to-"

"You are in no position to tell us what's improper." A boy with long brown hair and lavender eyes, wearing a white top, pointed out. "It's best for your own safety, to tell us what we want to know."

_And he's as stuck up as Ishida._"Fine." he said. "The name's Kurosaki. Ichigo Kurosaki of Karakura Town."

_Karakura Town?_They all thought. There was no such place familiar to Konohagakure no Sato. Or anywhere in the Hi no Kuni or any of the Five Shinobi Nations or affilates. "Where is this Karakura Town?" The blond lady asked.

"It's a suburb of Tokyo, Japan." He said, agitated. "Don't you guys know anything?"

_Tokyo, Japan? There's no such place!_ Now they knew something was wrong. "Hold on a second." a different, bored and disinterested, voice said. "You're asking the wrong questions. We'll never get anywhere like this." The owner of the voice walked towards Naruto/Ichigo. He wore a green vest and a black shirt, with matching pants. His eyes had a tired and bored look, and his hair was tied up in such a manner, it made his head look like a pineapple. "Okay. Tell us how old you are, and what do you do for a living."

_Okay. I can't tell them that I'm a Subsitute Shinigami, so... _"I'm fifteen years old, and a high school student."

_A what school student? What the hell is high school? _"Well, Hokage-sama," the pineapple head said to the voluptious blond, "I was expecting to hear that he was a shinobi. But, I didn't hear that. Can we get one of the Yamanaka's in here to check his mind?"

She shook her head. "They can't, Shikamaru. Because of his prisoner, there are two minds in there."

"Prisoner?" Naruto/Ichigo said. "You mean the Kyubi no Yoko?"

They all turned to him. "You know who the prisoner in your body is?" They had hoped that, at least, there was some part of Naruto in there.

"Yeah, just met him." There went that hope. "Fuzzy kept callin' himself that. Kind of annoying."

"Any more bright ideas?" another lazy voice, not as lazy as Shikamaru's, asked.

"Yeah," the afformentioned said. "I'm gonna ask him three questions. Questions that Naruto or any shinobi in our class would know. If he doesn't know those answers, or if I get different answers, then I'll know the truth."

"Go ahead then, Shikamaru." The Hokage said.

"First off, what's your favorite food?"

"Um," he said, thinking about it, "don't really have one."

Shikamaru rubbed his temples. "Okay, What's your best friend's name?" _This one should be simple_.

"Chad."

Maybe not so simple. "Okay, last question. Who's Sasuke Uchiha?"

And then the one sentence, no one ever thought would've come out of the mouth of Naruto Uzumaki, after all he's been through with him, and the bond that he has with him, came out.

"Who the hell is Sasuke Uchiha?"

* * *

**Back in Karakura Town, at the Kurosaki Clinic/Residence...**

After freaking out at the fact that the soul inside Ichigo's body, was NOT Ichigo, but that of a shinobi from the Konohagakure no Sato, named Naruto Uzumaki, it was apparent that Rukia would have some questions.

"Who are you? Where's Ichigo? How'd you get here? Where's Ichigo?" Rukia shot out.

"Dameru, already!!" Naruto yelled. "I'll answer your questions, just give me a minute!!"

"Okay. First off, who are you and where're you from?"

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm a shinobi from Konohagakure in the Hi no Kuni."

"Konohagakure?" She said with a cocked head. "Village Hidden in the Leaves?"

"That's correct."

"And you're a ninja?"

"Believe it!"

"Okay." Rukia replied. "Now, for my next question: How did you get here?"

"I wish I knew. I don't know where 'here' even is. I woke up and that crazy goat-faced looking guy attacked me while I was sleeping, and claimed to be my dad, those two girls to be my sisters, and that I'm some orange-haired angsty-looking guy named Itsugo or Ichigo!" Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Now that I think about it, who are you?"

"My name is Rukia Kuchiki." She said. "I live here in the Kurosaki house, and I'm Ichigo's partner."

"Partner?" He said. "You're his girlfriend or something?"

"Not like that. His Shinigami partner."

Naruto was a little freaked out. "Shinigami? You're the Shinigami? Aren't you supposed to be, you know... scary?"

Rukia frowned at that. The stereotypical description of a Shinigami was way off, unless you were the 11th squad Captain, Kenpachi Zaraki, in that case, it was a pretty close description. So, she explained what a Shinigami was... the same way she described it to Ichigo: With Chappy the Bunny drawings.

"Do you understand?" She asked after she was done. Naruto nodded. "Good. Any questions?"

He narrowed his eyes at her again. "Yeah. What's with all the bad rabbit drawings?"

To that, he earned a whack in the head. "Anyways, that's what Ichigo and I are. Now, we need to-" Her Soul Pager started ringing. "Hold on." She answered it. "Hello? You got it? Great, thanks. Where were we? It's a long story. We're about to head to Urahara's. Meet us there. We'll explain everything there. Okay. See you soon." She hung up the phone. "Get back in Ichigo's body. Let's go."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"To see if we can find out what's wrong here."

* * *

**Meanwhile... even somewhere else...**

"Is everything set?" A raspy, creepy voice said.

"Yes, my lord. We have successfully broken through to the place called Hueco Mundo. To be exact, a place called Las Noches. It'll take us directly there." Another, more normal voice replied.

"Finally!! After all of this time of observing this organization and it's moves, I believe that we can benefit from each other, don't you think so?"

"Yes, my lord. With both of our forces united, I believe that all of our enemies will be crushed. There's no reason why this shouldn't work."

"Is this really necessary?" A normal, yet angst filled, voice asked. "I mean, have you really stooped this low, that we have to grab help from another dimension? This such of a waste of time. Time, which could be spent training me."

"Wow." The normal voice went. "You're still talking to our lord like that, huh?"

"Shut-up, four eyes."

"Make me, mega-emo."

"Now now, you two." The creepy voice intervened. "Now, this will only strengthen our cause, and bring our enemies to their knees, at which we'll kill them. Now, Saskue, Kabuto, let's go to Hueco Mundo and meet with this Soskue Aizen and his Espada."

Kabuto Yakushi smiled. "Yes, Lord Orochimaru."

Saskue Uchiha rolled his eyes. "...Whatever."

The trio entered through the portal, leaving their hideout in Otogakure, and entering Las Noches, located in the Hollow world of Hueco Mundo. Little did they know, they were being watched by Soskue Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and some of their strongest Arrancar, known as the Espada, in Aizen's throne room. "Well, well." Aizen said, in his usual calm and smiling demeanor (A/N: You know, that demeanor is so calm, Treize Khrusenada is jealous somewhere). "What do we have here?"

"It appears that we have some company, Lord Aizen." Gin Ichimaru, his right hand man, replied. "Should we send some Arrancar after them."

"No, not this time." Aizen smiled. "They seem to be friendly forces. Why don't we let them in, and have them introduce themselves, hm? They can tell us why they're here.

* * *

**Now, back at Hokage Tower, in Konoha...**

"Okay." The Hokage, Tsunade, said, rubbing her temples. "So, your name is Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Yeah."

"And you're fifteen years old?" Shikamaru said.

"Yes."

"And you're from Karakura Town, in Japan?" Neji continued.

"Correct."

"And you're a high school student?"

"Yes, yes, yes!!" He answered, getting annoyed. "All of the questions you've asked, the answer is yes! Now, can someone tell me where am I, who are all of you, and why do I look like... like THIS!"

"You are at the Hokage Tower in Konohagekure no Sato." Tsunade answered.

"Village Hidden in the Leaves... Where is that in Japan? Am I in Japan?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Japan?" Sakura remarked. "Where's that?"

"Off the eastern coast of China. It's a country in Asia. Didn't you pass Geography, Pinky?"

There it was again. "STOP CALLING ME PINKY, YOU TEME!!" she yelled.

"WELL, YOU MAKE IT TOO EASY!! LOOK AT YOU!" he yelled back.

"ENOUGH!!" Tsunade said, as she slammed her right heel, hard enough to shake the room. "Sakura, calm down. Naru- I mean, Ichigo, please refrain from calling my apprentice names." They both huffed. "I know you're frustrated, Ichigo Kurosaki, but look at it from our point of view: A different voice is coming out of someone who we feel is precious to us. As for you claim to be from a country called Japan, I hate to inform you, but there is no such country in any of the Five Shinobi Nations, or it's affliates."

Naruto/Ichigo blinked. "No Japan? Then what country is this?"

"This is Hi no Kuni, the Land of Fire.." Neji answered. "Now, I have a question. How did you get into Naruto's body?"

"I don't know. I went to bed last night, in my own body, and when I woke up, I was here, in this body!"

"My Lady", Neji addressed Tsunade, "Should we call on the Yamanaka's? Maybe Ino or her father can shed some light on this."

"No can do." Shikamaru said. "The flower shop's closed, which means they're out of town. They won't be back for a few days."

"So, this means that I'm stuck in the body of some guy who's named after a ramen topping?" Ichigo groaned. "Whoopee."

'Ichigo...'

_Huh? Zangetsu?_ Ichigo spoke to his Zanpaktou. _What's up? Any way out of this mess?_

'Well, I was talking to the Kyubi, and unfortunately, he doesn't know how this happened, either.'

_What? Are you serious? Awww... So, I'm stuck here. Now what?_

'You might as well make the best of it, Ichigo. Get to know these people. You're gonna need them while you're here. I'll keep talking to the Kyubi to get answers about this world from him.'

_Thanks, Zangetsu. Should I tell them about my other job?_

'It's at your discretion, Ichigo." the old man replied. "But, it might not be such a bad idea.'

"I'll help out too, King. He shouldn't have to do all of the work." His Hollow form spoke up.

_Uh, thanks... I think_. He thought, as he frowned.

"Something wrong, Ichigo?" Sakura asked.

"No. I was talking to my Zanpaktou on some information that he got from the Kyubi, about this world."

Everyone looked at him, like he was truly insane. "Your what?"

Ichigo sighed. "I guess I should explain what I am, huh? Well..."

And then Ichigo Kurosaki explained to Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, The Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, Neji Hyuga, and Yamato about who he was, how he got his powers, and his history as a Shinigami.

* * *

**Meanwhile, over at the Urahara Shouten...**

Rukia and Naruto/Ichigo met up with Uryu Ishida, Orihime Inoue, and Yasutora "Chad" Sado over at the Urahara Shouten. When seeing how perfectly fine Ichigo was, Ishida was not too happy about him missing the Hollow fight. Rukia promised to explain once they talked to Urahara. As they walked in, they were greeted by Tessai Tsukabishi, Renji Abarai, Jinta, and Ururu. When Kiskue came out, he saw Ichigo, looking perfectly fine. "Rukia, he looks okay." Kiskue said. "What's wrong with him?"

"It's not Ichigo, Kiskue." Rukia implied. "In fact," She put on the Soul Glove, and rushed Ichigo, "let me show you!" She pushed the soul out of the body, and, of course, it wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki, It was Naruto Uzumaki. Everyone looked at the soul form, and blinked.

"Um, just who are you?" Uryu spoke first.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki!" Naruto replied.

Uryu raised an eyebrow. "And?" he said, expecting something else.

"Nothing else. Why?"

"No reason." Uryu replied. "I was expecting more, with the way you introduced your self, I expected more.

"What did you say?"

"Hold it, you two." Kiskue Urahara interruted. "Why don't we give Naruto-kun a change to explain here? His answers may amaze us."

**Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo...**

Aizen smiled."Well then. I guess I can't turn down a request like that now, can't I? Consider yourselves, and the Otogakakure, our allies." He said.

"I am overly honored, Aizen." Orochimaru replied. "Why don't we celebrate by attacking them when they're down!"

He shrugged. "I was gonna crack open a bottle of sake, but I like your idea better."

* * *

**A/N **: So, there it is. Chapter two! Will Ichigo have to fight, and if he does, how? Will Naruto adjust to life as Ichigo? What are Zangetsu and Kyubi talking about? Find out this and more next time!

Hey, if anyone has any ideas of anything, let me know. I wanted to do pairings, but I wanted some ideas on who to use. So, drop me a line in a review and let me know what you think. Later!!


	3. The Alliance From Hell

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or Bleach, I know. I'm constantly reminded of that.

Special shout-out to:

sweetangel03: Thanks for the review, dear. Glad you like it!

Zuzza, Sanz0girl, HibouNoRyuu: Thanks for making this one of your favorites!

* * *

**Chapter 3**: The Agreement from Hell

As they traveled through from the opening of Las Noches, they were unopposed by the weird creatures that inhabited this mysterious land. The strange beings, whose power they could feel as they walk, were all strange, and varied in looks, but all had one similarity: They all had a hole in their chest.

"Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said, breaking the silence, "do you think we can bring back a couple of these for some experiments, after we're done? I am quite intrigued by their looks, and wish to study their biology. A nice even number should be enough."

The snake sannin looked at his most loyal subordinate, and rolled his eyes. "Sure thing, Kabuto. We'll ask for a few later on." You really creep me out sometimes, Kabuto.

"Nerd." Sasuke called him. "These things could possibly kill you with just a touch, and you want to study them."

"Whatever. Shouldn't you be thinking about how you're gonna kill Itachi? Like, you usually do, Miss Uchiha?" Kabuto retorted back.

"Kiss my ass. I'm more concerned about why these things aren't attacking us. I had expected some form of opposition."

Orochimaru smiled, and did that creepy tongue thing. "This means that we're expected, my friends." That made Kabuto clutch a kunai, and Sasuke grip his katana... just in case.

* * *

The three former captains of the Gotei 13 protection squads, Soskue Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tosen, watched and waited for the ryoka from the throne room... well, Aizen and Gin, at least. Anyway, they knew that they had company from another world, and actually waited for them to see what it is that they wanted, along with a few of their Espada.

"You sure this is wise, Aizen?" Gin asked. "For all we know, they could be here to fight."

Aizen sipped his tea. "Do not worry, dear Captain Ichimaru. I really don't believe that they're hostile. Besides, we outnumber them, and I doubt they match our strength."

"Aizen-sama knows what he's doing, Gin." Tosen replied. "He always knows."

Gin shook his head at Tosen's, er, blind devotion to the former 5th division captain. "I hope you're right. I'd hate to start an inter dimensional war between us and them."

"Just trust Aizen-sama. His justice is swift and his honor is absolute."

Gin raised an eyebrow. _We talkin' about the same guy here?_

* * *

"Ah, here we are." Orochimaru said, as they approached the door. "Let's greet our hosts, shall we?"

The door was pushed open, and as they entered the throne room, they saw twelve figures, lined up, six on each side, and at the top of the throne, three men were looking on. Two were standing, one was sitting. The man sitting, addressed them. "Ah, so you've finally arrived. As the ruler and lord of this land, I welcome you to my castle, Las Noches. I am Soskue Aizen." He looked to his left. "This is Gin Ichimaru," and then to his right, "and Kaname Tosen."

"Lord Aizen," Orochimaru said, as he bowed, "I am Orochimaru, Otokage of Otohagakure no Sato." He looked to his left, "These are my proteges, my caretaker and head scientist, Kabuto Yakushi," and then to his right, "and my student, Saskue Uchiha. We've come here, on behalf of,... well me. I wish to seek an alliance with you, Aizen-sama. I feel we could be beneficial to each other's goals." He, then, did that creepy tongue thing, again, freakin' out Gin.

_What the hell was that?_ Gin thought._ And they call me creepy..._

"There's no need for that." Tosen spoke. "Aizen-sama needs no alliances. He and his Espada are all that's needed. We will conquer this realm, and he will be ruler of all."

Sasuke looked at Tosen, and looked at Kabuto. Now, doesn't that sound familiar...

"Now, if you will-"

"Now, now dear Kaname." Aizen interrupted. "It's always nice to have allies, so give it a chance."

"But, Aizen-sama, you are-" Tosen protested.

"Are you arguing with me, Captain Tosen?" He said, as he glared at the former 9th division captain, letting off some reiatsu, affecting everyone in the room, except Gin... and Orochimaru.

_This man, Soskue Aizen, his power is amazing_. Kabuto thought, then looked at the snake sannin, _But, Orochimaru-sama, he is not affected. Is he really that great?_

_So_, Gin thought, _he wasn't affected by Aizen's reiatsu, I see. This could get interesting..._

"N-no, Aizen-sama. You're right, of course." Tosen replied. Aizen lowered his energy, then turned towards Orochimaru.

"So, Orochimaru-sama. What is it that you propose?" He said, smiling.

"I propose... a talent exchange. I will loan you my shinobi, in exchange for your forces. I believe your, what do you call them, Hollows and Arrancar, will be enough. I am more than certain that we can crush the forces that oppose us, in our respective worlds."

"A talent exchange... interesting concept. What is your opinion, Gin?"

"Well, Aizen, you do know that Shinigami can't hurt humans, unless they're souls, and gigais are way too weak to fight them. The opposition we'd have would be that Quincy, Kurotsuchi fought, and that big fella, Kyoraku fought."

Aizen smiled."Well then. I guess I can't turn down a request like that now, can't I? Consider yourselves, and the Otohagakure, our allies." He said.

"I am overly honored, Aizen." Orochimaru replied. "Why don't we celebrate by attacking them when they're down!"

He shrugged. "I was gonna crack open a bottle of sake, but I like your idea better."

"We can still open it, nothin' wrong with that. Go right ahead!" Orochimaru said, doing that tongue thing again.

_That's really creepy..._ Aizen and Gin thought, grossed out.

* * *

A/N: Okay, this is a little late, and a pretty short. But, I wanted to put in what Orochimaru and Aizen discussed. I figured that I give a little background on it, so the story can make a little more sense. Anyways, read and review, please. I'm thinking of adding some of the Gotei 13 to the story or even an invasion of Soul Society. Let me know what you think. Until next time, peace!


	4. CrossDimensional Combat!

Disclaimer: I don't own either show. Nor will I ever. Unless I win the lottery, but then my chances will go only go up by 5.

Sorry, it's been awhile since I posted. My autistic muse decided to take a vacation. But, the new chapter's here!Thanks to all who viewed it. Special thanks to TannerUzumaki for the review. Ask, and ye shall recieve, my friend. Enjoy all!

**Universal Switch!**

**Episode 4**

_Last time..._

"_Hold it, you two." Kiskue Urahara interruted. "Why don't we give Naruto-kun a change to explain here? His answers may amaze us."_

**Now**

"So, tell us, Naruto." Urahara continued, "Tell us, who you are, where you're from, and how did you get here."

"Well, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm a genin shinobi from Konohagakure no Sato, and-"

"Wait a second." Uryu interrupted this time. "Shinobi? You mean you're a ninja?"

"That's right." Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What? Hard to believe?"

"Well, first off, you're wearing orange. Ninjas don't wear orange. They're mostly camoflagued, aren't they?" Ishida said, as he adjusted his glasses. "Secondly, what's a genin? Is that some sort of rank? Ninjas don't have ranks. Thirdly, Konohagakure no Sato? Village Hidden in the Leaves? There's so such place like that on Earth, so why should we believe any of what you've been sayin'?"

"Oh! I know!" Orihime said. "If you're a ninja, do something cool!"

Naruto nervously laughed at the cute teenager. "I would, but there's a problem. I can't seem to access my chakra, dattebayo."

"And there's your proof." Urahara spoke up, prompting everyone to turn toward him, in surprise.

"What do you mean, Urahara?" Uryu asked. "You mean he is a ninja?"

"How do you know he's telling the truth?" Rukia asked.

"It's simple, really. Aside from him, only a few people on this Earth know about chakra or Konohagekure. Tessai and myself are two of them."

"You two have heard of this place?"

"Yes, we have, Miss Kuchiki." Tessai replied. "About 60 years ago, the store owner was doing a time and space experiment, and accidently, opened up a rift, which led to a place called Hi no Kuni. During our travels, we met a group of three people, who were about to settle and start Konoha. They were Hashirama Senju, his brother, Tobirama, and another man, Madara Uchiha" He noticed that Naruto looked at them in awe. "Do those names sound familiar, Mr. Uzumaki?"

"The Senju..." Naruto said, before it dawned on him. "You mean you met the First and Second Hokages?"

"Hokage?" Rukia exclaimed.

"That's the title of the leader of the village. They are the strongest in the village, and are appointed, as such."

"And they're actually close friends of ours." Urahara added. "Well, I figured that they're both gone by now, but that's neither here nor there. What this means is that our friend here is telling the truth."

"Okay, so what about charka?" Renji asked.

"'Chakra' is a power source. It is to them what reishi is to us. While reishi is just spiritual energy, chakra is spiritual energy mixed with physical energy from every cell in the body." Urahara said, as he was, apparently, searching through a chest. "Chakra is what they use to perform jutsus, mystic arts and techniques that ninjas use in battle. Ah ha! Here it is!" He took a black ring box out of the trunk. He walked over to Naruto. "Here."

Naruto sweatdropped. "Uh, I'm sorry, old man. I don't go that way, and we kinda just met, but I can tell you're not my type, dattebayo."

"Oh my!" he falsely sighed and cried, while waving his fan. "I was rejected three times at once! That's obviously a new record for me!"

Rukia rolled her eyes, seeing through his rouse. "Okay, Urahara, what's in the box?"

"You're no fun, Miss Kuchiki. Anyways, it's what you think is in here. A ring."

The jaws of everyone, except Kiskue, Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu, dropped. "What?"

"But, this ring has special properties. Remember, I was in Konoha for awhile, so I experimented with chakra. This ring will allow the wearer to use chakra in our world."

"Why would you invent something like that?" The big guy, Chad, finally spoke.

"Oh, just in case. Never thought it would come in handy, though. Here, try it on and try a jutsu."

Naruto put the ring on his pinky finger, since it was too small for his ring finger. He, then, tried a simple jutsu(well, simple to him). "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly, there were five Narutos in the room, four plus the original. "Now, you can use that ring inside or outside Ichigo's body. If you use it inside his body, the jutsu you're doing, including Shadow Clone, will affect him."

"You mean, if he does that in Ichigo's body, there will be more Ichigos?" Rukia asked.

"That's correct. Think of it as extra backup if Hollows show up, or if something happens."

And at that moment, as if on cue...

"EEEEEEKKK!!"

"Yeah. Just like that." And then, that was followed by even more screams.

"It came from outside. We should check it out." Rukia said. She, along with Chad, Ishida, Inoue, Renji, and Naruto ran outside to check out what was happening. What they saw were people being chased and attacked all over Karakura Town by men wearing a similar hitai-ate as Naruto's, but with a difference. As his headband had the emblem of Konoha, theirs had a single music note.

"Friends of yours, Naruto?" Renji half-jokingly asked.

"No, these are Sound Ninja!" He exclaimed, in shock. "They're from an enemy village. How did they get here?!"

"How did you get here?" Ishida countered.

"I don't know! Really, I don't!" He started to run out and away from the group.

"Where are you going?" Inoue asked.

"I'm going to go stop them." He said, not looking at them. "Those nin are dangerous. Really dangerous. They almost destroyed Konoha once."

"You planned on going alone?" Sado asked.

"I don't want anyone else to get hurt, dattebayo. Besides, I don't know if any of you can fight."

"Why not turn around and see for yourself?"

Naruto turned around to see Ishida ready with his Quincy bow, Sado's arms powered-up, Inoue with her Shun Shun Rikka revolving around her, and Rukia and Renji already turned into Shinigami. Naruto blinked. "Okay. That answers that. Let's go!!"

* * *

**Meanwhile, back in Konoha...**

"So, you can see ghosts?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, as far back as I can remember." Ichigo, still in Naruto's body, replied.

"And you're a Shinigami?" Neji asked.

"Yep."

"And you're responsible for defending your town?" Shikamaru asked.

"Correct." Ichigo replied. "But, I get the feeling you don't believe me."

"Well, it's kinda hard to." Tsunade said. "For one, you're tied up."

"YOU GUYS TIED ME UP, REMEMBER?!" he yelled.

"Plus, you claim to be talking to your sword. A sword, you clearly don't have." Shikamaru added.

"I have it, it's with my spirit form!" Ichigo defended.

"Yeah, about that..." Yamato said, said scratching his head.

"You really don't believe me."

"I do." A voice that came from the direction of the window said.

"Who are you?"

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

A gray haired man with a hitai-ate covering his left eye, and his face covered came through the window. He was wearing a green vest like Shikamaru and Yamato, with a blue jumpsuit underneath. "Now Sakura, I believed he asked me who I was." He turned to Ichigo/Naruto. "I'm Kakashi Hatake, and even though I believe your story, I'm not the one you need to convince."

"Yeah, but how?"

"Wait." Tsunade said to Kakashi. "Why do you believe his story?"

"Jiraiya once told me the story, the Third told to him, of a man wearing a green hat and wearing clogs, who was the friend of the founders of Konoha, your grandfather and your uncle. The man he described, Kiskue Urahara, sounds just like him."

Tsunade thought about it. "Now that you mention it, I was told a story about him. But, I always dismissed it as a fairy tale. I'm not really sure that it's real..."

Hey Zangetsu, any ideas? Ichigo thought to his sword.

"_I was talking to the Kyubi, and he is able to force your spiritual form from this body, so you can prove to everyone that you are who you say you are."_

Okay. Let's do that. You hear me, Kyubi? Go for it.

"**Okay. I'm ready. Now, you need to say the phrase "Spiritual Dispel" to force yourself out."**

But, will they see me? He asked.

"**Chakra, the energy force here, is like your reishi. They have a high level of it. You will be seen. Oh, I've also adjusted your energy grid a bit to allow you to use your techniques, such as Getsuga Tenshou and your Bankai."**

Okay, I'm ready. Here goes!

"SPIRITUAL DISPEL!!"

They all turned to Naruto, when they heard him shout. And with that, came a flash of light, that brightened the whole room. After the light died down, they saw Naruto, still on the floor, but slumped over. "Look up here." went a foreign voice. As they looked up, they saw a handsome 15 year-old teenage boy, with orange hair, brown eyes, wearing a shihakushō and a scowl on his face. On his back, was a sword that looked like a oversized cleaver. "Now, do you believe me?"

"Amazing.." Kakashi said.

"Unbelievable..." Shikamaru exclaimed.

"No way..." Neji replied.

"He was telling the truth..." Yamato said.

"That's my line." Ichigo said.

"Oh my..." was all Sakura could get out. She looked back down at Naruto's body. "Is he alright?"

"He'll be okay. I just had to be forced from his body, by the Kyubi."

"THE KYUBI?!" They all yelled.

"What? What about the Kyubi?"

Before any of them could answer, there was an explosion in the village. "Where did that come from?" Neji asked to no one in particular. They all ran to the window. What they saw were giant creatures with masks, and holes in their centers, terrorizing the city, making the villagers flee in panic, from what most of them could not see.

The group at the Hokage's office, however, could see them as bright as day. "What are those things?" Shikamaru said.

"Hollows." Ichigo said, halfway out of the window. "Spirits of the dead that haven't been sent to Soul Society, and have been corrupted. Once corrupted, they gain a skull-like mask, a drastically different physical appearance, and a very animalistic level of intelligence. They crave and feast on human souls, living or dead."

"Human souls?!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Oh no! The villagers!!"

"Are gonna be okay." Ichigo told her. "I'll stop them."

"I'm coming with you." Kakashi said.

"So am I." Sakura added, along with Neji, Shikamaru, and Yamato.

"The only way to kill them is by destroying their masks." he told them. "Can you guys handle that?" They nodded. "Alright, let's go!!"

* * *

**The Battle in Karakura Town...**

The group decided to spilt up, and take on the Sound in different areas of the town. Rukia, Chad, and Uryu went to different directions, Renji stayed behind to watch out for the shop, and Naruto and Orihime went in a separate area. Naruto decided to stay with her, since she seemed the weakest to him. As they raced towards the Sound, Naruto noticed that Orihime was staring at him. "Hey Orihime, what's up?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing." She said. "It just those whisker lines on your face. What are they?"

Naruto sighed. He wasn't ready to reveal the story of the Kyubi to them yet. "Well, you see..."

"It's just that they're so cool!! And they're soooo exotic! I've never seen anything like them. Are they tattoos?" she exclaimed

Naruto smiled. "Heh heh. No, but they're permanent." Suddenly, a rain of shuriken and kunai came in their direction. "Look out!" He was about to grab her and get her out of the way, when...

"Santen Kesshun, I reject!" Orihime's Three Sacred Links Shield suddenly appeared, and protected them from the attack from the shinobi of Otohagakure.

Naruto looked at her in awe. "How did you do that, dattebayo?"

She smiled. "That's my power. The Shun Shun Rikka. There's more than that, though."

"You'll have to tell me later, Hime. Here they come!"

A group of sixty Sound Ninja landed in front of them, poised to attack, when they saw the hitai-ate on Naruto's head. "Hey you!" one of them yelled at Naruto. "What's a Konoha shinobi doing here?"

"What are Oto shinobi doing attacking here?" He countered.

"Telling you wouldn't matter, since the two of you are about to die here!"

Naruto grinnned, and made the Crossed Fingers Seal. "You mean the seven of us! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Five more Naruto Shadow Clones appeared, ready to take on the ninjas. "Orihime, stay back, okay?" She nodded. "Let's go!" Naruto and his clones yelled, as they charged them. Attacking them, with taijutsu, several of the clones were taken out with ease. Out of nowhere, more ninjas appeared out of nowhere. At the point of attack, Naruto didn't stand a chance. That was until...

"Koten Zanshun! I reject!" Suddenly, a streak of light whizzed past Naruto, and hit several of the Oto nin. "Where did that come from?" he said out loud, only to turn around and see Orihime waving at him. "Did you do that, Orihime?"

"Are you okay, Naruto?" she yelled to him.

"Yeah! That was amazing, thanks!"

"My, my. That certainly is an amazing power, coming from you."

The sudden scream coming from Orihime's direction, was enough of a reason for Naruto to hurry to her position, taking down more and more Sound ninja. "Orihime, are you-" he was stopped in mid-sentence, by the visual of a familiar silver-haired, purple-clad, glasses wearing male. "Y-You!!"

* * *

**Konoha, and the Hollow battle**

Ichigo, with help from the ninja the interrogated him, attacked the Hollows, at full force. While the others split-up into other parts of the village, Ichigo and Sakura teamed up and head to the area where Ichiraku Ramen was located. Luckily, Teuchi and Ayame were already gone, as well as several customers. That made it much easier to concentrate on the fight. Ichigo had killed two hollows at once, while Sakura, using her Chakra-enhanced strength, took out her very first. "Nice hit, Pinky!" Ichigo yelled at her.

"Not so bad yourself, Strawberry!" She retorted. "But, you know, where did these things come from?"

"There's this place, in between my world and Soul Society called Hueco Mundo." He said, as he killed another hollow. "That is the place where the Hollows reside. They enter our world by tearing the fabric that separates worlds. They can drag spirits into there and turning them into other Hollows."

"Spirits of the dead? They do that to them?" Sakura said. "They deserve peace! That's horrible!"

"It's not just spirits of the dead they do that to. They do it to the ones the kidnap from living spirits. Spirits and other Hollows are what they feed on."

"That is totally deplorable!" she said, furiously. She hit the next Hollow's mask so hard, it shattered into pieces, before the Hollow disappeared.

"Tell me about it. This is why Shinigami exist. To prevent things like that from happening." he said, eliminating two more Hollows. "Someone has to do it. It took me a long time to figure it out."

The fighting lasted about 10 more Hollows in their area. They were able to take a break, after they eliminated the ones in their area. "You okay, Sakura?" he asked, panting, with his hands on his knees.

"Yeah. How about you, Ichigo?" She replied, leaning against the Ichiraku Ramen wall.

"Peachy." He looked up at the blue Konoha sky. "I wonder how the others are doing." He looked to the east. "What are those flashes of electricity?"

"It's probably Kakashi-sensei, using his Raikiri, the Lightning Blade. He'll be okay." She sighed. "More than likely, the rest of the shinobi still in the village are helping out with this now."

"The quicker, the better. Still, I wonder how did they get here?"

"We're still trying to figure out that with you, remember Strawberry?" She said, with a snicker.

"Yeah, yeah. We'll figure it out soon enough. At least, we're almost done here."

"Hey, what in the-?" She stopped.

"What is it, now, Sakura?"

"Why is there a guy floating in the air?" She pointed out. Ichigo looked in her direction, and saw a man with white hair, wearing a shihakushō, with a white haori over it. The man also seemed to be smiling.

"My, oh my." he said. "It looks like we've underestimated this world. I'll have to call in for backup if this keeps up."

"YOU WON'T GET THE CHANCE, ICHIMARU!!"

The former 3rd division captain, Gin Ichimaru, turned around to see who it was that called out to him. "Well, well! Isn't this a surprise! What are you doing here, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"That's my line!" Ichigo said, as he shunpo'ed up to where Gin was. "What does Aizen want with a place like this?"

"This place? Oh, he's just helping out an ally of his. The ally's helping him out with Karakura Town, as well."

"Who?" he asked. "Who is this ally?"

"Oh, I've said too much just now." he replied, as he waved at Ichigo. "I have to go now, but don't worry. I have a friend for you to play with!" Suddenly, a man with black hair and an all white suit came out of nowhere. "Here you are. This is your chance to get in with Aizen's good graces. Good luck." Gin disappeared, leaving Ichigo with the warrior.

"Well well, nino. You must be Ichigo Kurosaki. I am Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio." he announced himself. "Shall we begin?"

* * *

Okay, this is officially an AU. In the Bleach universe, it's taking place somewhere, after Ichigo starts training with the Vizards, but before Orihime is kidnapped. As for the Naruto universe, it's after Asuma's death, but before Orochimaru's fate is sealed by Sasuke and Itachi.

I really didn't think it fair to have depowered Ichigo and Naruto, so I gave them ways to access their abilities by way of Urahara and the Kyubi no Yoko. Plus, it's a general fic, I didn't want to leave them powerless. I'll be bringing in more characters in the next chapter. I won't say who, but I will say that one of them will be making a great, no awesome, no Dynamic Entry into the fic. So, read and review, and I'll the next chapter ready soon. Until then, later!


	5. Still More Fighting

**Disclaimer**: You already know who owns Naruto and Bleach, and it's not me. I'm dealing with it, so you do, too.

**A/N**: Well, I'm getting a lot of hits, but not a lot of reviews. But, at least I know that people are checking it out, and that's cool. If you can, do me a favor and review. Let know what you think!

Quick shout-outs go to:

**Crossoverluver**: Thanks for the support! I've been waiting for something like this, so I know others have been too. Hope you like this chapter!

**Emma Iveli**: Thanks for thinking it's awesome! You wanted to see more, and here it is! Enjoy!

**Hyxrst**: You flatter me with your words, and I hope you like what you read in this chapter.

**TannerUzumaki**: You wanted to see how Naruto and Ichigo handle their enemies, well here you go! Let me know what you think of this one!

And without further adieu, here's Chapter 5!

* * *

**Universal Switch!**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

_**Last time..**_

"_Are you okay, Naruto?" she yelled to him._

"_Yeah! That was amazing, thanks!" _

"_My, my. That certainly is an amazing power, coming from you."_

_The sudden scream coming from Orihime's direction, was enough of a reason for Naruto to hurry to her position, taking down more and more Sound ninja. "Orihime, are you-" he was stopped in mid-sentence, by the visual of a familiar silver-haired, purple-clad, glasses wearing male. "Y-You!!"_

* * *

**Now...**

"Y-You!!"

The aformentioned silver-haired, purple-clad, glasses wearing shinobi shivered in shock from the all-too familiar voice. _It can't be_, he thought. _It-it's impossible!! _He turned around, hoping that the voice didn't belong to who he thought it belonged to...

He was sooo wrong. As soon as he turned around, he saw the blond hair, blue eyes, Konoha hitai-ate, facial whiskers, and unmistakeable orange jumpsuit of Konoha's number one, hyperactive, unpredictable, knuckleheaded ninja. "Naruto Uzumaki?!" he exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You know, that's a good question. You answer it, first, Kabuto Yakushi!" Naruto replied back fiercely.

"Well, well. Aren't we demanding! But, this IS interesting, wouldn't you say?" Kabuto said, rather cocky. And he could do that, especially since he had a kunai to Orihime's throat. "Especially, since you're in no position to bargain."

Naruto growled. "Let Orihime go! She has nothing to do with our past!" he yelled. "You want to settle this now? Let's do it!"

Kabuto laughed. "Oh my. You're so egocentric, it's hilarious!" He smiled evily. "What, at all, makes you think that this is about you? Because you're here? Oh, that's a riot. Aren't you full of yourself yet?"

"Kabuto..." he said, increasingly becoming angrier.

"And why should I let her go? She isn't one of your teammates, shinobi comrades, or villagers from that pathetic excuse of a village. And I know she doesn't know who or, rather, what you really are." He put away the kunai, and charged up his Chakra Scalpel. "Maybe I should end her before you end up destroying her, her friends, and her town."

"NARU-TOOOOOOOOO!" Orihime cried out. "HELLLLLLLPP!"

"Say good bye to her head, demon!!"

"NO!! ORIHIME!!" he yelled.

"NARUTO!!" she yelled.

Naruto would've never made it on time to save Orihime from Kabuto's chakra scalpel. And Kabuto would've succeeded too...

If not for the spirit arrow that struck his hand. "ARRGH!" he yelled. "Who the? Who did that?" He grabbed his hand in pain, giving Naruto the chance and opportunity to get her away from the snake's right-hand man.

"Did you do that, Orihime?" Naruto asked.

"No, Naruto. It wasn't me." she said.

"You actually believe that that was her who shot that arrow?" A voice came from the rooftops. "How ignorant are you, Uzumaki?"

The three of them looked out toward the rooftops to see a lone figure jump down toward the fighting, landing facing Kabuto. He was wearing a white shirt with a tie and beige khakis. He, also, had glasses. "Uryu! I'm so glad to see you!"

"Are you hurt, Orihime?" he asked. She shook her head no. "What about you, Naruto?" He did the same. "Good. Now, stay out of my way. I'll be his opponent."

Kabuto was incested. Who was this that thought he could take down the right hand of Orochimaru? "Look at you. Acting so high and mighty. You think you can defeat me? Just who do you think you are?!" Uryu said nothing. "I asked you a question, damnit. Answer me! Who in the hell are you?"

Uryu looked at him. "Isn't it normal for one to tell them their name, when asking for another's name?" he asked. "Don't you have any manners?"

Kabuto smiled. "Heh. You've got some nerve, I'll say that much." he replied. "My name is Kabuto Yakushi. The right hand and medical shinobi of Lord Orochimaru. And you are?"

"Like any of that is supposed to frighten me." he replied. "Uryu Ishida. Second year student at Karakura High School, and Quincy."

"Is that all?" Kabuto scoffed. "You say it like you're something special, when you're nothing more than common street trash."

"Street trash wouldn't have been able to do that your hand, asshole." Ishida fixed his Quincy Bow on him. "Now, what are you doing in Karakura, and why are you attacking Inoue and Uzumaki?"

"Uzumaki?" Kabuto thought about it. "Oh, you mean Naruto? Oh, just because he's an abomination that needs to be taken care of, for all our sakes."

"YOU BASTARD!!" Naruto shouted.

"Naruto! Calm down." Ishida demanded. "I don't know what your problem is with Naruto, and normally, I wouldn't care. But, he protected Orihime, and in my book, I've nothing against him."

"You're a bigger fool than I thought." Kabuto said. "He'll kill you all. But, you know what? Maybe you all deserve it." At that moment, an Oto Shinobi appeared next to Kabuto. "How's our progress on taking the town?" The nin whispered in his ear. "What do you mean we're being pushed back?"

"Oh, that would be our nakama." Ishida proudly boasted. "You see, we don't take our town being invaded very lightly, you poor Trunks wannabe."

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" Kabuto yelled, though he had no idea what he was talking about.

"You heard me." he replied. "Oh, Vegita called. He wants his son back."

Kabuto growled. No one really made him this mad. He turned his attention back to the scout. "I'm giving the order to pull out." He angrily ordered. "We'll have to think of something else. Inform the other squads!" The nin nodded and disappeared.

"What's the matter?" Ishida asked. "You're not giving up, are you?"

"Not at all." he replied, regaining his composure. "We'll be back. And I'll make sure you're the first one I kill, Ishida. That is, if Naruto over there, doesn't do it first."

"Wait!" Naruto called out. "What's going on here? What does Orochimaru have to do with this? Why are you here?"

"Heh. I shouldn't tell you anything, but I'll leave you with this. We're doing this for our new partners. He's taking care of Konoha, right now." He replied with a evil smile. "And we didn't fail. We're just pulling back for now. See you fools soon." He, then, disappeared.

"We need to get back to Urahara's. Immediately." Ishida said, after all the Sound ninja vanished.

"Wait a minute." Orihime said. "Now that I think about it. You went a totally different way than we did. What are you doing here?"

Uryu looked up to the sky. "Well..."

**About a half-hour ago, over by the river(the place where Rukia was taken back to Soul Society)...**

"This is insane!" Uryu was taking on several ninja, by firing off his several shots from his bow. Unfortunately, within a matter of minutes, more and more Oto shinobi started appearing from all sides, and it was getting difficult to keep track of them, and where they were coming from. Which, all in all, made it difficult for him to shoot them. "This isn't good." He said to himself. "At this rate, I'll be overrun with ninja."

"Need some help, Ishida?" A familiar voice called out to him. Suddenly, Uryu was joined by the brown-skinned, yellow-eyed beauty in black, known as...

"Yoruichi?!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Kisuke informed on everything." She replied. "Sorry I wasn't there before. I was in cat form, sleeping two rooms over." She looked at the enemy surrounding them. "This is it? I'd expected there to be more."

"Renji, Rukia, Sado, Inoue, and the new guy, Naruto are handling them in other locations." he replied. "This is the location I chose."

"Okay. Go help one of the others." Yoruichi replied, nonchalantly.

"What?" Ishida replied. "Are you sure? There are a lot of ninja here."

"It's not a problem. This isn't that much." she said. "And you forget one thing."

"What's that?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

She smiled, like she was about enjoy herself. "I'm a shinobi, too." And then, with a mighty yell, Yoruichi Shihoin launched herself at the Sound ninja... and started beating them, like they were nothing.

Seeing that she actually had things under control, Uryu took her advice. "Okay then." he said. "I'm gonna go now, and help out one of the others."

"YOU DO THAT!" she yelled. "I'LL MEET YOU GUYS BACK AT URAHARA'S!"

**Present time**

"So, she was still there when you left?" Orihime asked, and Ishida nodded. "Oh well, I guess she'll be okay..."

Suddenly, they heard a yell of joy, from a distance. "HA HA! YOU CALL THESE NINJA? THEY AREN'T WORTH SHIT!! AWWW! WHERE ARE YOU GOING? I WAS HAVING FUN!!"

"Yeah." Ishida replied. "I think she'll be okay." He, then, turned to Naruto. "What was that all about?"

Naruto looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

"What did he mean by you'll 'kill us all'"? He sternly asked him.

"It's a long story." he said, with a sad sigh. "I'd rather wait until we're back at Mr. Hat and Clogs' places, first. So I can explain to everyone."

"Naruto," Orihime said, with concern. "what's wrong?"

"You guys are gonna hear one hell of a story. My story..."

* * *

**The Fight in Konoha...**

The battle raged on between Ichigo and his Espada opponent, Dordonii. They battled back and forth with their Zanpakuto, constantly trying to one-up each other. Sakura remained on the ground, watching the fight in complete awe. Unbelievable... was all she could think. It was all she could do. She knew that they were in a whole league than she was. She would only be in the way. All she'd be able to do was root on her new orange-haired friend to victory. Come on, Ichigo. You can do this... I hope...

The subsitute Shinigami was doing all he could against the fighter, Gin called to the battlefield to cover his escape. Unfortunately, his best didn't seem to be enough, mainly since he hadn't used his Bankai yet. Dordonii was pressuring him into using it, saying that he "wasn't worth fighting until he released his Zanpakuto". "I wish to fight you at your best, nino." Dordonii called out to him. "Why don't you release and make it easier on yourself?"

"What?" Ichigo replied, as he charged him. "This isn't enough for you?"

He easily parried Ichigo's attack. "Hardly." he replied. "What? You don't want to show off in front of your girlfriend, down there?" He pointed down to Sakura.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?" Ichigo panicked. "I JUST MET HER!!"

"You work quick, nino." Dordonii teased. "I like that."

"DAMERU, BAKAYAROU!!"

"Then, show me your Bankai, and I'll stop!" _Maybe... _He said, and thought, as he backed away from him.

"You wanna see it so bad? Then fine!" Ichigo yelled to him, as he held his sword out. "But, remember. You asked for it! Ban-KAI!!" Ichigo used the command to activate his sword's final release.

Dordonii laughed with pleasure. "Yes! This is what is wanted! This is amazing!"

"This what you wanted?" Ichigo said in his Bankai form.

"Yes, yes it is." he replied. "Now... allow me to release my Zanpakuto!"

"What?"

"Whirl, Giralda!" Dordonii's form changed, as he grew horns on his shoulders and armor that started out at his feet, wrapping around his calves, and jutting out at his waist with two more spikes. His mask also extended, framing his face. "Now, nino... we dance!" he said, as he charged out at Ichigo.

Despite Ichigo's power being even to his, the Espada was still in control of the fight. The two parried each other's sword attacks, repeatedly. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough for Ichigo. Dordonii still was in control. "Come on! This can't be all you have." Dordonii said.

"Dameru!" Ichigo replied, as he sent a sword attack his way. Dordonii avoided the attack, and caught Ichigo with his Zanpakuto, across his chest. "DAMNIT!!"

"Come on. Is all the power you have?" he mocked.

Damnit. Ichigo thought. I didn't want to use this, especially since I can't hold it for very long. But, he's not leaving me a choice, is he? "You want more power? You got it!" Ichigo, then materialized his Hollow mask, causing Dordonii to turn around.

"What in the world?" he exclaimed, suddenly afraid of the power he asked to see.

"GETSUGA TENSHOU!!" he yelled as he fired off his Bankai's special technique. The blast hit Dordonii, causing him to blow up. At that moment, Ichigo's mask broke apart, as he started down back to Sakura.

"Ichigo, are you alright?" she asked.

"Yeah." he said, obviously winded from the fight. "I just put all of my power into that one attack. I need to rest for a while."

"Here, let me heal your wounds." Sakura sat him down and started to use healing jutsu on the wounds on his body. "Just because I'm healing you, doesn't mean you can get up and start fighting again. Those Hollows are almost gone, thanks to the rest of the shinobi, so just take it easy for awhile, okay?"

"Not a problem, as long as we don't get attacked." Just at that moment, as if on cue, a blast landed right at their feet. "What the hell?" Then, suddenly, a blur ran past them, taking Sakura with it. "Sakura!"

The blur stopped, to reveal Gin was the culprit. "Well, Ichigo, it seems that you defeated Dordonii, but not without getting wounded." he said. "And all of the Hollows I set out here are almost gone, that's no fun." He sighed. "Oh well, I guess I'll take this girl as a consolation prize. You don't mind, do you?"

"ICHIGO!!" she yelled.

"Let her go, Gin!" As he began to stand up, Gin quickly slashed him several times, leaving him unable to move. "Kusottare!!"

"Oh, look at that! Looks like you won't be doing anything! Gin said, laughing.

"Let her go!" Ichigo pleaded. "She's not a part of this!"

"Well, now she is! We'll be seein' you!" Gin turned his back to Ichigo, and began to open the gate back to Hueco Mundo. It seemed like nothing could stop him from taking Sakura back with him.

"DOUBLE DYNAMIC ENTRY!!"

Two, simultaneous flying kicks connected with an off-guard Gin's face, causing him to release Sakura, and send him flying into a nearby building. The ones who gave the attacks landed. "Who did that?" Gin asked to no one in particular, before he turned his attention to the ones who looked like father and son, as they were dressed in the same style: Green leotard, green vest, same bowl haircut, and bushy eyebrows. The younger looking one had on orange training weights on his arms and his legs. "Who are you two?

"They call me Konoha's Noble Gentleman," the older one said first, "but I am the fearsome and beautiful Green Beast, Might Guy!" He finished, by striking the "Nice Guy" pose.

"And though, they call me the Handsome Devil of Konoha," the younger one said, "I am truly its amazing and dangerous Blue Beast! My name is Rock Lee!" He, too, finished by striking the "Nice Guy" pose.

"Lee! Guy-sensei!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Dear Sakura! Are you hurt, my precious flower?" Lee asked.

"N-no, Lee." she answered, blushing a bit. "I'm okay. Ichigo did his best to protect me." She pointed over to the Strawberry Shinigami.

"Then I must thank you, Ichigo." Lee said. "Your actions have prevented harm from coming to one of my precious people. For that, I am indebted to you."

"Eh. Not a problem, Bushy Brow." Ichigo said, unknowingly using Naruto's nickname for Lee.

"Who is this unsavory character, in all white?" Guy said, pointing to Gin.

"How do you do?" Gin said, as got up, rubbing his face. "I am Gin Ichimaru, former captain of the 3rd Division of the Gotei 13 protection squads of Soul Society, and currently, Grand Commander of the Arrancar Army of Hueco Mundo. I must say, your attack caught me very off-guard."

"That's what the Dynamic Entry is designed to do." Guy boasted proudly. "It's one of my most youthful and powerful techniques. I must say I'm particularly proud of it."

"It's just a flying kick, you know." Ichigo said.

"Not just a flying kick." Guy retorted. "But, a flying kick that burns with the Flames of Youth!!"

"...Riiiight." Gin replied. "And as much as I'd like to take you on, I see that my time here is up, for now. I must be going." Suddenly, a Menos Grande appeared , ripping the sky apart, and casting Negacion on Gin, allowing him to escape back to Hueco Mundo. "We'll meet again, Might Guy, Rock Lee, and Ichigo Kurosaki." As soon as he disappeared, the Menos did as well, and the sky mended itself back together.

"Well then," Guy said, "now that that's over, I think we'd better get Ichigo to the infirmary."

"Yosh! A most excellent suggestion, Guy-sensei!" Lee agreed. "They will most definitely be able to restore Ichigo's youthfulness!"

"No." Ichigo declined. "Get me back to the Hokage's office. Once I get back into Naruto's body, I can heal there."

"Right, Ichigo." Sakura replied.

"Wait a second." Lee interrupted. "What does he mean he can heal in Naruto's body? What is going on here, Sakura?"

"A very good question, Lee." Guy said. "Perhaps, we'll get our answers when we get there. Including, what is that outfit you're wearing? It's not very common around here... or very youthful, at that."

Ichigo and Sakura rolled their eyes at the Beasts. "Let's just go..." Sakura deadpanned.

* * *

Put it in the books! Chapter five is done!

Now a quick translation of some of the words in this one:

Dameru: Shut up

Bakayarou: Idiot

Kusottare: Bastard, or shithead.

Now, if you're wondering where's the Gotei 13 or Akatsuki, I am planning to bring, at least, one of these groups in the story, but I'm kicking around the idea of a side story involving the two factions, and I wanna see how it'll play out. If any of you out there is a beta, and is interested in checking it out first, let me know. After I finish the rough of the first chapter, I'll let you check it out first.

Next chapter: Now that all the fighting's done, for now, it's time for some questions and answers. Will the Karakura team hear what that want to know, and how will they take it? Will Tsunade and her shinobi get the answers they want to know? And how in the hell did Naruto and Ichigo get stuck in each other's bodies, in the first place? You'll find out, more or less, in the next chapter. Stay tuned, and peace out!

Do your fellow writer a favor, and review please!


	6. It's Origin Story Fun Time!

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Naruto or Bleach. If I did, there would be a Survivor Series match between the two shows.

**A/N**: Hey, sorry for the wait. Life does get in the way, at times. Time for some quick thanks:

**luigi2024**: Just keep on reading, my friend. That's all I gotta say.

**Kasek**: I know Kabuto seemed off. And I really haven't gotten into the Uchiha just yet. Thanks for reading, though, and I hope you continue.

**Namikaze naruko14**: Thanks! Hope you like this update. And just keep reading. Things are gonna get interesting really soon!

**TannerUzumaki**: Thanks for reading, as usual! I'm working on my fight scenes. You should look at some of my older stuff. In fact, I invite everyone to look at my older stuff, especially, "A Saiyajin Holiday". If you're a Crossover fan, a DBZ fan, or a Pokemon fan, you'll like it!

* * *

**Universal Switch!**

**Episode 6: Time for an Origin Story!  
**

* * *

_Last time..._

"_Well then," Guy said, "now that that's over, I think we'd better get Ichigo to the infirmary."_

"_Yosh! A most excellent suggestion, Guy-sensei!" Lee agreed. "They will most definitely be able to restore Ichigo's youthfulness!"_

"_No." Ichigo declined. "Get me back to the Hokage's office. Once I get back into Naruto's body, I can heal there."_

"_Right, Ichigo." Sakura replied._

"_Wait a second." Lee interrupted. "What does he mean he can heal in Naruto's body? What is going on here, Sakura?"_

"_A very good question, Lee." Guy said. "Perhaps, we'll get our answers when we get there. Including, what is that outfit you're wearing? It's not very common around here... or very youthful, at that."_

_Ichigo and Sakura rolled their eyes at the Beasts. "Let's just go..." Sakura deadpanned

* * *

  
_

**Now**

With the help of Rock Lee and Might Guy, Sakura got Ichigo back to the Hokage's office. On the way back, Sakura and Ichigo explained the sitituation to the Beasts, and to say the least, they were still confused. "I'm confused." Guy said. "First off, that doesn't seem physically possible. Secondly, if that's the case, then, where is Naruto?"

"That's what we don't know." Sakura answered. "If we knew how this happened, then that would solve a lot of the other questions we have about this. How are you feeling, Ichigo?"

"Not too bad." he replied. "I've taken worse than this. Doesn't mean that it doesn't hurt, though."

"Ha ha!" Guy laughed. "Despite your appearance, and the consequences of how you got here, I am awed to be in the presence of such a youthful person. The Flames of Youth burn brightly within you, my otherworldly friend!"

"Riiiiiight..." Ichigo said, as he sweatdropped. He, then, whispered to Sakura, "Is he always like this?"

"No." She replied. "Sometimes, he's worse."

"Ummm..." Lee jumped in, "has anyone noticed that the villagers are looking at us funny?"

"Always observant, Lee!" Guy proclaimed. "Once again, you prove yourself worthy of being my Number One pupil!"

"I've noticed that, too." Sakura said. "Does it have to do with you, Ichigo?"

"They probably can't see me. They probably don't have a lot of Spiritual Energy and awareness, and that's what it takes to see a Shinigami."

"So, why can we see you?" Lee asked.

"Probably because of our levels of Chakra, Lee." Guy replied. "Because of our chakra, we are able to see, talk, hear, touch, and sense him."

"But, what about me? I cannot mold Chakra, Guy-sensei, remember?"

"Just because you can't mold it, doesn't mean you don't have it, Lee." Sakura replied. "Having it and using it are two different things."

"I see. Thank you, Sakura. You are as astute, as ever."

"In any case, here we are." Guy said. "Let's get to Lady Tsunade's office."

A few minutes later, they were in the office, with Tsunade, Shikamaru, Neji, Yamato, and Kakashi. "Guy, Lee." Kakashi said. "What are you two doing here?"

"My new friend, Ichigo, and your student, were under attack, and we came along and saved them, despite the enemy escaping. Why are you here, my eternal rival?"

"Eternal rival?" Ichigo whispered to Sakura.

"I'll explain later." she replied.

"Ichigo, you're hurt!" Tsunade exclaimed. "Are you okay? Why didn't you go to the hospital?"

"The villagers couldn't see me, so I can imagine how hard it would be for some doctors to see me." He said. "Besides, as soon as I get back into Naruto's body, I can heal there quicker. Speaking of which..." He turned to the body of the orange-clad ninja on the couch. "Excuse me." He walked over, and merged with him, leaving Ichigo talking and moving through Naruto, again. "That's better. Already starting to heal. Now, can someone take these ropes off me, and get me something to eat?"

Tsunade looked at Yamato. "Yamato, can you-"

"I'm on it." He disappeared, leaving a trail of leaves.

"Now, I have a question." Guy said. "Is anyone sure that this isn't a trick of the Kyubi?"

"The Kyubi?" Ichigo/Naruto said. "What do you mean, 'a trick of the Kyubi'?"

"Well, uh..." Kakashi started.

"Come to think of it," Ichigo/Naruto interrupted, "I have some questions of my own. Like, why is there a Nine-Tailed Demon Fox inside of this body? Or why is there a village of ninjas?"

The shinobi in the room looked at each other. "I don't think we're breaking the Third's edict, by telling him, are we?" Kakashi asked.

Tsunade sighed. "At this point, so many people know about it, because of Akatsuki, Orochimaru, and that attack on the village, a month ago, it really doesn't matter, now does it?"

"We've all known for awhile," Shikamaru said,"so it's not like we're hearing anything for the first time."

"We'll even help out where needed, Lady Tsunade." Neji added.

She nodded. "Then it's settled. First, the village. This is Konohagakure no Sato, the Village Hidden in the Leaves, one of the five great shinobi villages. It was founded sixty-two years ago, by my grandfather. I am it's current leader, the Hokage, Tsunade. What we do here is train ninjas, who accept mission requests sent to us, and complete those missions, to earn money, as a form of compensation. For fifty-eight years, the village had been at peace, until that night..."

"That night?" Ichigo went.

* * *

**Meanwhile, back in Karakura Town, at the Urahara Shop...**

Naruto, Orihime, and Uryu had returned back from their battle with Kabuto and the Sound Ninja, as well had Rukia, Chad, Renji, and Yoruichi. As they came in, they looked down at the body of Ichigo. "Maybe you should get back in Ichigo's body." Rukia suggested.

"Just pick up his body, get behind him, and concentrate. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Okay, whatever you say." Naruto did what Rukia suggested, and had merged back with Ichigo's body. "Hey, what do you know? It worked!"

"Naruto, who was that man?" Orihime asked.

"That was Kabuto Yakushi."Naruto/Ichigo answered. "He's a ninja from Otohagakure, The Sound. He's a master in Medical ninjutsu, to the point, where he can kill with it, and he's the right hand man of Orochimaru, a former ninja of my village. His main weapon is a Chakra scalpel. You were lucky, Orihime. He really could've killed you."

"There was someone that you recognized, Naruto?" Kiskue asked.

"Yeah," he replied, "and in his own body. Something is really going on here."

"What do you mean?" Orihime asked.

"There really is no reason for Orochimaru to attack this city." Naruto/Ichigo explained. "Karakura Town isn't really on Orochimaru's radar."

"It shouldn't be." Kisuke added. "The Elemental Countries are in a different dimension than this one. It would be impossible for him to even know of it's existance."

"Naruto," Uryu spoke up. Naruto had a feeling where this was going. "about what Kabuto said. What does he mean you could 'kill us at anytime'?"

Naruto/Ichigo sighed. He didn't have a choice but to tell. "He was talking about my tenant."

"Your tenant?" The entire room went.

"You can command someone who owes you rent in an apartment complex or something?" Orihime blondly asked.

"No, no." Naruto/Ichigo said, as he chuckled. "I mean, there's something living inside my body. My real body."

"What's living inside your body?" Chad asked.

"...The Kyubi no Yoko."

With that, the entire room had a look of shock appear on their faces. "I think you need to explain further more, Naruto." Yoruichi said.

He took a deep breath, and began telling the story. "About fifteen years ago, at the end of the Third Great Shinobi War, my village, Konohagakure no Sato was under attack by the Kyubi no Yoko, The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. We don't know how or why it attacked, it just did. It took out mountains and caused tidal waves with a swipe of its tails."

"Amazing..." Rukia said.

"In the Ninja Academy, we were taught that the village leader, at the time, The Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, died, killing the fox. But, that's not what happened."

* * *

**Konoha**

"It's not?" Ichigo/Naruto asked?

"No, it's not, at all." Kakashi replied. "A lot of good ninja died that day, and there would've been a lot more, probably, the entire village, if Minato-sensei didn't do what he did."

"Well? What did he do?" Ichigo/Naruto asked, with total interest now.

"Well, aren't you excited?" Kakashi noticed. "Anyway, he used a secret and forbidden technique to seal the Kyubi away."

"Sealed it? "Wait. You mean to tell me that your Fourth Hokage-"

"Lift up your shirt to see it for yourself." Tsunade said.

Ichigo/Naruto lifted up his shirt, and saw it for himself. "Amazing..., but wait. If this was fifteen years ago, then wouldn't Naruto be, like a thirty-year old man, or something?"

Sakura shook her head. "He's fifteen."

"But, if he's fifteen," Ichigo said, putting two-and-two together, "then that would mean that-"

"The demon was sealed inside him when he was a baby."

* * *

**Karakura Town**

"Why a baby?" Renji asked.

"A baby would've been able to take it, since it's Chakra network is just starting to develop. If it were an older person, the Kyubi would've burned him from the inside out, and would've been freed, once more." Naruto said, remembering what Tsunade told. "The power of the Kyubi grants me practical invunerability, heightened strength and speed, regeneration, and an almost endless supply of Chakra."

"Oh my." Orihime said, with tears in her eyes. "That's too much of a responsibility for someone so young. At least your parents were there for you right."

Naruto looked at the Karakura gang, sadly. "My parents... I've never known them... and the reason is, because they're dead."

"Dead?"

"They died fighting the Kyubi, sacrificing themselves for the Leaf."

They all looked down at the floor. They didn't know that the person inhabiting their friend's body had been through so much. "At least, you had the village, right?" Urahara said.

This time, he looked away, shaking in sadness and fear. "Hehe. You would think, right?"

"What?"

"The Fourth, as a final wish, had hoped that I'd be viewed as a hero and protector to the village." He chuckled and sighed. "How wrong he was..."

* * *

**Konoha**

"They hated him?" Ichigo asked, in shock.

"The villagers only saw him, as the demon," Kakashi said, "as the one who killed their families and friends."

"The villagers... were bitter. They would beat him, almost to the brink of death." Guy said, feeling sad over the thought of the memories. "But, because of the Kyubi's defensive, he just kept healing himself. Broken bones, cuts, scratches. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had returned back to office, after the Fourth's death, issued a decree, declaring that no one was allowed to tell Naruto of the Kyubi inside of him."

"H-hold on a second." Ichigo said. "I gotta talk to the fox."

"Talk to the fox?" Lee looked at Sakura. "He can do that?"

"Apparently." She said, shrugged.

"Hey fox!" He said, inwardly. "Is all of this true?"

"_Yes._" Zangetsu, not Kyubi, replied. "_All that you have heard is the truth._"

"Zangetsu? How do you-"

"**I told him everything.**" Kyubi replied this time. "**While you were talking with the humans the first time, before the Hollows attacked, Zangetsu and myself had a conversation about many things.**"

"Hey! What about me?" Ichigo's Hollow spoke. "I was there too, ya' know!"

"**You may have heard everything, but you, mostly, just stood there and picked your nose, you vile thing.**" Kyubi answered. "**I doubt you remember a word, even.**"

"But, I was still there!" he pleaded.

"_Unfortunate, of that fact..._" Zangetsu replied, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, shut up, old man!"

"ANYWAY..." Ichigo, annoyed, snapped them back to sense. "Why'd you do it?"

"**That's the problem. I do not remember why it happened. There was this man, and his eyes... next thing I know I'm in here. But, I remember what I did and what happened.**"

"_I believe that he may have been controlled, at the time, Ichigo. There is much we do not know of this world. There may be someone strong enough to control him, against his will."_

"Oh, whatever. Someone goes on a rampage of wanton death and destruction, and you think he's being controlled. That's a load of-"

"**Oh, how I wish I could eat you, you bufoon. But, I'm still in this cage."**

"Well, isn't that tough for you, you giant lupine."

"GUYS!!"

"W**H**A_T_?!"

"Nevermind, I'm gonna talk back to the others." He ignored Naruto's tenant, and it's temporary guests, and went back to talking to real people. "Well, he confirmed it."

"You were really talking to the Fox?" Tsunade asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I first talked to him, after Pinky knocked me out, when we first met."

"Call me Pinky again, and I'll gladly repeat that, Strawberry!" Sakura glared at him, raising a fist.

"Calm down, you two." Kakashi ordered. "But, it is odd that you can talk to it."

"Why?" Ichigo asked.

"Because, the Kyubi should be dead, if Naruto's dead, also."

Tsunade thought for a moment. "That's true. But, if the demon is alive, then that means that Naruto is out there somewhere?"

"We shouldn't rule it out." Guy said. "We just don't know enough to ensure of it."

"I agree with Creepy Eyebrows." Ichigo/Naruto said of the Green Beast. "I'll ask the fox why he isn't dead.... later."

"Yamato should be back soon, with food." Tsunade said. "We'll call it a night, after that. Sakura will take you back to Naruto's place. She'll get you tomorrow, and show you around town."

"Great. A day with Pinky." Ichigo joked. "Should be fun."

"Shut it, Strawberry."

* * *

**Karakura Town**

After hearing all of Naruto's story, everyone was silent for awhile. So many emotions had flowed through the room. Anger, sadness, surprise, pity. Naruto's story always brought out those emotions in people, whenever someone heard it. Orihime walked over to Naruto/Ichigo, and threw her arms around him "Oh Naruto!" she cried. "I had no idea! How could they treat you so unfairly?"

"It's okay, it's okay." Naruto/Ichigo said, rubbing her back, attempting to soothe her. "I've grown stronger since those days, and people have started to recognize and acknowledge me."

"You sure are something else, Naruto." Renji said. I don't know if I could even live with myself, after such a thing happening to me."

"It's tough, but that's what my friends are there for." Naruto/Ichigo said, remembering each and every one of them. "I miss them, but I'd like to think that I'm making some new ones."

"Oh Naruto!" Kisuke said, drying his eyes. "You gave us such a tearjerker. I would've never thought that someone in that realm would be capable of a technique."

"I guess..." he said, shrugging.

"As much as I hate to end this crying festival, what's our next move?" Uryu asked, somewhat sarcastic.

"Well, I've been slinging around an idea, but, of course, it's going to take me a few days to prepare it." He, then, looked at Rukia. "Take him back to Ichigo's place. It's late anyways. Everyone go home. I'll call, when it's ready or if something comes up."

"Urahara, we have school tomorrow." Rukia said. "We can't sit around and baby-sit for you."

"Yare, yare. He'll fit in fine." They all sweatdropped. "You all worry too much."

Uryu sighed. "This should be interesting, tomorrow..."

* * *

**Captain's Quarters, Seiretei, Soul Society**

An, otherwise, peaceful, quiet, and uneventful day, in the Seiretei had been interrupted by an emergency meeting of the Captains and Lieutenants of the Gotei 13 Protection Squads. They had all been called, for somewhat of an unknown reason. Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, the Captain of the First Division, and Commander of the Gotei 13, called the meeting to order, as soon as all the parties had arrived.

"The reason I have gathered you all here, is because of some information that we've received from the Twelfth Division." Yamamoto said. "Earlier today, an anomaly took place, of unknown proportions. The Science Department had picked up a dimensional exchange of souls. And not just any souls, but two powerful souls to be precise." Looks of amazement hit the members assembled in the Quarters. "Captain Kurotsuchi, I believe you have more on this."

"Yes, I do." Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Captain of the Twelfth Division, and the Science Department, said. "At around 3:45am, Karakura Town time, a strong soul was swapped from the body of a person, living in the town. I say swapped, because at 3:50am, another strong soul was replaced into that body. It is unfortunate, but we do not know who the souls and the bodies belong to."

The hand of Jushiro Ukitake, Captain of the Thirteenth Division, went up. "Captain Kurotsuchi, if the soul was swapped, just where did the soul go?"

"Excellent question... for you." Kurotsuchi said, in his usual snide tone. "The soul went into the body of someone residing in another dimension, opposite the one Karakura Town is in. Precisely, we've tracked it down to a village in the Elemental Dimension. A place called Konohagakure no Sato, in Hi no Kuni."

"Village Hidden in The Leaves, in the Land of Fire?" Soifon, Captain of the Second Division and the Special Forces, said.

"Yes." Yamamoto replied. "It is a land that we have assigned to, but a few Shinigami, and every hundred, or so, years, we change up the guard."

"Now, you said this was caused a dimensional rift." Ukitake said. "What does this mean?"

"Apparently, the rift opened up in Hueco Mundo, a place where, of course we haven't been able to go to." Kurotsuchi replied.

That raised a lot of eyebrows. "So, Sosuke Aizen is behind this?" Byakuya Kuchiki, Captain of the Sixth Division, asked.

"Actually, no." he replied. "The rift originated in the Elemental Dimension. In Otogakure, in Ta no Kuni."

"Village Hidden in the Sound, in the Land of Rice Fields?" Soifon translated, again. "What does this mean? Why did someone cause a rift to enter Hueco Mundo?"

"It is unknown why this happened, but because of this, we must find out what exactly happened." Yamamoto replied. "Therefore, I am sending Captain Kurotsuchi to go and investigate and research the rift. Also, I will be sending two teams to the towns where the souls were swapped. A group to Karakura and a group to Konoha."

"I will go to Konoha, and act as an ambassador." Kuchiki said.

"No. I cannot let you go, Byakuka." the Commander replied. "I am sending Captain Ukitake and Captain Kyoraku, as well as their lieutenants, to act as ambassadors to Soul Society. Your mission will be to meet with the leader of the village, I believe the leader is called 'Hokage' or 'Fire Shadow'. Gather whatever information you can, and try to find the displaced soul."

"Yes sir." Ukitake replied.

"No problem, Old Man Yama." Shunsui Kyoraku, Captain of the Eighth Division, said. "We'll find this missing soul."

**WHACK!** "Have some respect!" Nanao Ise, Kyoraku's lieutenant scolded him.

"Oh, my dear Nanao, you're so cold..."

"Now, for the team to Karakura Town..."

"I'd like to request to go to-" Soifon started.

"I am sorry, Soifon, but I cannot let you go either." Yamamoto interrupted. "Captain Hitsugaya."

"Sir?" Toshiro Hitsugaya, Captain of the Tenth Division, said.

"You and your lieutenant will choose two others, and go to Karakura Town. You will make contact with Renji Abarai, Rukia Kuchiki, and Ichigo Kurosaki, and inform them of the situation."

"Yes sir!" Both Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto, his lieutenant, replied.

"To all teams, be careful. We do not know what to expect, especially in the Elemental Countries. Report every twelve hours. Understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"Dismissed!" As the captains and lieutenants exited, Yamamoto called back Byakuya and Soifon. "I understand that you two are not happy that I denied you two to go. There is a very good reason for this."

"Commander?" Kuchiki said.

"I have a feeling that we may be attacked, soon." He replied. "Something is coming. Something strong. Powerful. And especially dangerous. I need my best here to defend the Seiretei. Prepare your units. This, I have a feeling, maybe something far worse than Ichigo's assault and the Bount's assault combined."

Otogakure

Orochimaru's portal was left opened, and unchecked. No one even knew it existed, really. No one... except a man, with Venus fly-trap extensions, enveloping his head, wearing a black cloak with red clouds. "I don't believe what I'm seeing. I must report this to rest of Akatsuki."

* * *

A/N: Soul Society's finally involved, and now the Akatsuki? Chaos is about to ensue everywhere! What will happen when Hitsugaya's team meets Naruto? Or how about when Kyoraku and Ukitake meet Tsunade? What will happen with Ichigo and Sakura? What is Akatsuki planning? Most of those questions will be answered next time!

Okay, I know this chapter wasn't that good, but it's necessary for the upcoming chapters. I hope I made up for it by introducing Soul Society and Akatsuki into it. I'm still kicking around the side story, though. That's definitely gonna be on here. Anyways, read and review, please? Let me know how this was. Until next time, later!


	7. They've Got Soul!

Hope everyone's had a Merry Christmas! Here's a late present from me!

Sorry that it's been awhile since the last update. Life has its way of preoccupying my time. With work and such(and an X-Box 360), I've been working on this, but the finished updates will be released once a month, twice if I can make it. But, here it is. Again, I apologize for the delay. I hope the readers like this chapter. I changed a few things from the original writings that I had. Just a few things that I thought would work better, you know. Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Naruto and Bleach are not owned by me. If they were, Bleach would last longer, and Naruto would still be Naruto... just longer.

* * *

**Universal Switch!**

**Chapter 7: They've Got Soul

* * *

  
**

**_Last time..._**

"_Well, I've been slinging around an idea, but, of course, it's going to take me a few days to prepare it." He, then, looked at Rukia. "Take him back to Ichigo's place. It's late anyways. Everyone go home. I'll call, when it's ready or if something comes up."_

"_Urahara, we have school tomorrow." Rukia said. "We can't sit around and baby-sit for you."_

"_Yare, yare. He'll fit in fine." They all sweatdropped. "You all worry too much."_

_Uryu sighed. "This should be interesting, tomorrow..."

* * *

  
_

**Now**

The next morning began like the last sun shined through the window, as morning crept up on the town. Outside, birds could be heard chirping, people could be heard moving towards their destinations. And once again, the hustle and bustle of the morning rush woke up Naruto Uzumaki from his slumber. "Well, it's another morning, and the beginning of another day, stuck in this body." he said to himself. "I wonder how this day is gonna turn out." Suddenly, once again, his thinking was interrupted by the annoying yell of a much older, goat-bearded man. "Oh great. Not again..."

"GOOOOOOOOD MORRRRRNIING.... ICHIGOOOOOOOOO!"

"Looks like Rukia was right."

Flashback

"Oh yeah, Naruto." Rukia said, as they walked home from Urahara's

"What's up?"

"Did Isshin attack you this morning?"

"The goat-bearded jiji? Yeah," as he smirked and rubbed the back of his neck. "Why?"

"He's gonna do it again."

Naruto/Ichigo paled. "Are you serious?"

She nodded. "He does it every morning. Claims it keeps Ichigo on his toes. I think he does it, just for fun, though. Just be glad he'll be out tonight, or you would've been attacked because we missed dinner."

Jeez, he thought. How does Ichigo deal with it?

"I'd thought I let you know, since you're a shinobi and all, I figured you'd have something planned for him."

"You really sure he'll attack?"

"More than positive. Almost like clockwork."

Present

Yeah, she was right. He thought, as he smiled. And I've got something just for him.

Isshin landed on Ichigo. "HA! GOTCHA!" Only for Ichigo to disappear in a puff of smoke. "Huh?" Suddenly, four other Ichigos appeared out of nowhere, and kicked Isshin in the air, while saying...

"Ic!"

"Hi!"

"Go!"

Then, the real Ichigo jumped off one of the other one's backs, somersaulted in the air, and kicked Isshin down from above, hard, saying...

"Kurosaki Barrage!"

The force of the last kick slammed him down to the ground hard, sending him through the floor, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!", and knocking him out, but not before he went "ohhhhhhhhh..."

Back in Ichigo's room, the five Ichigos were congratulating each other on a job well done. "Great job!" "You too!" "Haven't done that in awhile, have we?" "We sure haven't. That was fun!"

"Great job, you guys." The real Naruto/Ichigo said. "Haven't used Shadow Clones in a couple of days. Feels good, doesn't it?"

"Sure does, boss!"

"Alright guys, dismissed!" He, then, dispelled his clones, and stretched. "Well. I guess it times to get ready for this school thing. Where's the clothes Rukia laid out for me at?"

"They're hanging in the other closet."

"Thanks Rukia." Suddenly Ichigo turned around. "RUKIA?!" he jumped. "What're you doing here?" Rukia opened the closet, where she sleeps. "You sleep in the closet?"

"I've been sleeping here since I came to Karakura Town." She replied. "I saw what you did to Isshin. What was that, anyways?"

"It was one of the first techniques I came up with when I first became a ninja." He replied. "It's called the 'Naruto Uzumaki Barrage', but since I'm in Ichigo's body, I renamed it the 'Ichigo Kurosaki Barrage'."

She smirked. "Nice. I'm impressed." She hopped out of the closet. "Come on, time to get dressed. Put the clothes on, and let's go. Tell Ichigo's sisters you'll grab something on the way to school, and I'll meet you outside."

"We're leaving now?" he asked.

"We're meeting up with Sado, Inoue, and Ishida at the school early." She answered, as she went towards the window. "We've got to get you acclimated with the school, and who Ichigo associates with, aside from us four."

"Hey, why are you going through the window?"

"Isshin and the twins don't know I'm staying in his closet. I have to keep it up, somehow." She jumped out the window, shouting, "I'll meet you outside!"

"Wait!" he exclaimed, "How am I supposed to-" She was out of earshot, before he could finish. He suddenly channeled a certain lazy chunin, and said "Troublesome woman..." He headed down the stairs, to see Yuzu and Karin standing over Isshin's still unconscious body.

"You put Goat-Beard through the floor." Karin said, as she smiled. "Nice."

* * *

**Naruto's apartment, Konoha**

Ichigo woke up, differently than he did the day before. This time, Sakura came to wake him. "Hey Ichigo, time to wake up."

He groaned and stretched, to reveal he was shirtless. "What's up, Sakura?"

She immediately showed a light pink shade on her face. "Naru-, I mean, Ichigo! Naruto has pajamas, why didn't you wear them?"

"Sorry. Couldn't find them." he replied. "Plus, I'm not wearing that ridiculous walrus sleeping cap."

She giggled. "Well, go take a shower, and get dressed. I'm gonna show you around the village today, and introduce you the rest of our gang."

"Sounds like fun." Ichigo said. "Give me fifteen."

Twenty-three minutes later, Ichigo/Naruto met up with Sakura outside, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, while Sakura wore her usual red. "Sorry that took so long." he apologized. "For awhile, all I saw was orange."

"Yeah. For awhile, it seemed all he liked was orange. Anyways, let's get going. We're gonna meet up with Shikamaru and his team over at Training Ground number 12."

"Shikamaru? Who's that, again?"

She looked at him like he lost it. "You know, Shikamaru?" He gave her a blank look, and raised an eyebrow. "You met him yesterday?"

"The one with the lavender eyes?"

"No, that's Neji. Shikamaru's the other one."

"The one with the gray hair and one eye covered?"

"That's Kakashi-sensei!"

"The one with the weird shaped headband?"

"That's Yamato-sensei!" Sakura was becoming visibly frustrated, but he kept going.

"The one with the mutant eyebrows?"

"That's Lee!" She said, getting tired of it. "Don't you remember any of the people you met yesterday?"

He shook his head. " To tell the truth, I'm pretty bad with names." She facevaulted.

"Okay, okay." She said, composing herself. "Shikamaru is the one who looks like a pineapple."

"Who looks like a pineapple?" The two of them turned around to see Shikamaru behind them, with his usual impassive look. "Troublesome woman... anyways, we're here, so let's go meet up with the others. Thankfully, they're all between missions. I told them to meet us in Training Ground number 12, just as planned." He arched his back, and put his hands in his pockets. "In any case, let's go." The two nodded, and they were off.

As they walked, Ichigo noticed something strange. Almost everyone they walked past, were giving him a dirty and vicious look, as if they hated and detested him. It bothered him greatly, and the looks disturbed him, but he shook it off. It wasn't until a old man spit at his feet, and called him evil, that really riled him up. "HEY! WHAT WAS THAT ABOUT, BUDDY?" he yelled.

"You shouldn't be allowed to live, you monster!" the man yelled back.

"Monster?!" Ichigo was riled up, and was ready to kick the man in the face. "Who in the hell do you-"

"Hey, calm down Ichigo!" Shikamaru said, as he grabbed him. "You're gonna get yourself, and Naruto, in trouble!"

Ichigo was understandably angry. "Where does he get off, disrespecting me like that?!"

"It wasn't you he disrespected, Ichigo." Sakura tried to explain, trying to hold him back. "It was Naruto!"

"Doesn't matter! No one should be treated like that!"

"...It's only gonna get worse. This was nothing." Shikamaru said, sadly.

Ichigo looked at him, like he was kidding. "You're joking, right?" They were both silent. "Is this because of the-"

"Don't say the word in the street." Sakura told him. "You'll only make things worse."

"Let's go meet up with our friends." Shikamaru said. "They know everything, and you'll be amongst good people."

Ichigo nodded. "Alright."

* * *

**Karakura High School**

Uryu, Chad, and Orihime were already there when Rukia and Ichigo/Naruto got there. For the next hour and a half, the four of them drilled him on their fellow students, faculty, and friends they shared a classroom or hung out with at lunch. With fifteen minutes to spare before the homeroom bell rang, he knew about everyone from Keigo Asano and Chiziru Honsho to their teacher, Misato Ochi. It wasn't long before Naruto's first test began.

"ICHIGOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Keigo cheered from behind, attempting to glomp Ichigo. 'Attempting' being the key word, since Naruto kept Ichigo's face emotionless, knocking out Keigo with a backhand.

'Perfect. Just like Ichigo' Rukia thought, as she watched Keigo admonish Ichigo for not hanging out with him, again, and, like Ichigo, ignoring him. 'But, let's see how he does the rest of the day.'

"Orihime!" Orihime turned around to see her best friend, Tatsuki Arisawa, approach her with, somewhat, a relieved smile. "I tried to call you last night, but you didn't pick up. Is everything okay?"

"Y-yeah Tatsuki." She replied, still keeping the secret of her powers, and of the others. "Sorry, I was taking care of some things. I was getting some things for dinner!"

"Oh, okay!" 'Knowing you, though, it was something pretty strange..." Tatsuki thought.

"ORIHIIIIIIIIMEEEEEE!" Chiziru Honsho cheered in the way Keigo did to Ichigo, except she actually succeeded into latching on Orihime... and instead of a regular hug, she latched onto her large breasts. "Orihime dear, I tried to call you last night! I wanted you to come over and hang out, so I could-"

Chiziru was, then, met with a kick to the face from Tatsuki. "WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?"

Ichigo/Naruto was taking mental notes on everything that had just transpired. 'Okay, so Tatsuki's protective of Orihime. Chiziru's a pervert with women. Keigo's completely insane and shameless.'

"Ah, I see I've arrived in time for Chiziru's morning beating." Mizuho Kojima said, as he arrived. "But, I missed Keigo's morning knockout. How's it goin', Ichigo?"

"Oh, uh good Mizuho." Ichigo/Naruto replied. Suddenly, the bell rang, and they all took their seats.

Their teacher, Ms. Misato Ochi, went over the class roster, and noticed that two students were absent. "Oh well," she said, "those two are delinquents anyways, so who cares?"

'Some teacher...' Naruto thought, as he sweatdropped.

"Okay, before we begin, I received word that we'll be getting four new students today." There was a knock at the door, as she said it. "OH! That must be them." She opened the door, to reveal four faces, only familiar to Rukia, Orihime, Chad, and Uryu.

'What are they doing here?' Rukia thought, in surprise. "I didn't know Soul Society was sending anyone else!'

"Hello," the short one with the wild gray hair and cold blue eyes said, "my name is Toshiro Hitsugaya." He, then, introduced the others with him, and then took the available seats.

'More Shinigami?' Uryu thought. 'Does Soul Society know what's going on?'

Naruto/Ichigo looked at his four new friends, and saw they were in shock/surprise. 'Do they know these guys? What's goin' on now?'

Later, on the roof, during lunch, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, and Uryu decided to confront the four, to find out what was happening. "Captain Hitsugaya!" Rukia called out to him. "What's going on? What are you guys doing here?"

"Ah, Rukia." Toshiro said. "The four of us are here on a mission. According to Kurotsuchi, there was an unexpected switching of souls between dimensions happened two nights ago. Whatever caused it, caused a rift in dimensions to open up in Hueco Mundo, where Sosuke Aizen currently is."

"Switching of souls?" Uryu said. 'So that's how it happened...' "Rukia! We need to tell them what's happened!"

"What's happened?" The one with the shiny hair and skin, Yumichika Ayasegawa inquired. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well... you see..." Rukia began.

"Hey, where'd you guys go?" They all turned around to see Ichigo standing there. "Weren't you guys gonna show me around the school and stuff more?"

"Well, well." The one without hair, Ikkaku Madarame, said, as he pointed his wooden sword at Ichigo. "Look who finally showed up. Long time no see, Ichigo. Captain Zaraki told us to tell you hi."

Ichigo/Naruto stood there with a blank stare. "Who's that? And who are you guys?"

The four shinigami looked at Ichigo, like he had lost his mind. "What? Are you serious?" Ikkaku said. "You really don't remember us?"

"Remember you? I don't even know you, baldy."

Everyone there, except Ichigo and Ikkaku, looked at him like he had just signed his death warrant. "I am NOT bald!"

"Oh yeah? Where's your hair? It's not there, is it?" Naruto/Ichigo ranted. "Face it, you're bald!"

"Oh really, Strawberry?" Ikkaku, now REALLY mad, yelled. "Why don't you get out of that body and say it to my face!?"

"Sado," Rukia whispered to him, as she put on the Soul Glove "get behind Ichigo, and get ready to catch him. I'm gonna show Captain Hitsugaya what I'm talking about." Yasutora nodded, and got behind Ichigo.

"Fine! You asked for it!" Ichigo/Naruto yelled at Ikkaku. "Hey, Rukia!"

"Already ahead of you!" She forced the hand with the Soul Glove on it to Ichigo's head, and forced out the soul of Naruto Uzumaki.

The four shinigami showed confusion when Rukia forced out the shinobi. "Um... you going with a new look, Ichigo?" Yumichika asked. "Because that orange is far from beautiful. It doesn't even hit pretty."

Rukia rolled her eyes. "You idiot. This isn't Ichigo! Does his face look like Ichigo's?"

"Now that you mention it..."

"What do you mean 'Now that you mention it'?" Naruto ranted. "I saw a picture of this guy, and I look nothing like him! I do NOT look like a strawberry!"

"True." The strawberry blond and VERY busty, Rangiku Matsumoto replied, with a smile. "You're kinda cute."

"ANYWAYS," Hitsugaya interrupted, rolling his eyes, "If you're not Ichigo, then where is Ichigo?" At that moment, Rukia explains how she found Naruto, as well as the conversation they had with Urahara. "That's... that's a lot to take in."

"We figured the same thing too." Chad agreed. "We still don't know what happened to Ichigo."

"Urahara said that he had a theory, but he hasn't gotten back to us yet." Uryu said, as he looked at Orihime... who was in honest and deep thought. "What's on your mind, Orihime?"

"Well," she said, I was just wondering..." She, then, looked at Toshiro's gang, "what are you guys doing in Karakura?"

"Oh right," Hitsugaya said, finally remembering, "we're here to investigate, what Captain Kurotsuchi called, 'a dimensional rift' that originated in the Elemental Dimension, in a place called Otogakure."

"The Sound?!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. "You mean that snake bastard IS behind this?"

"Hey," Ishida spoke up, "didn't that Kabuto guy say something about his lord, um... Orochi-something..."

"Orochimaru, I believe." Orihime remembered. "But, he didn't say much after that, except calling Naruto 'an abomination' or something like that."

"'Abomination'?" Rangiku asked. "What did he mean by that?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Heh heh... it's a long story. I'll explain it after school."

"Speaking of which," Chad chimed in, "we'd better get back soon or people will start getting suspicious." They all nodded, and went onward. What they didn't know was that one of their classmates were watching the group the whole entire time.

"What is going on here?" Tatsuki said to herself, "and what happened to Ichigo?"

**Training Ground No. 12, Konoha**

Naruto/Ichigo, Sakura, and Shikamaru finally made it to the training ground where the rest of the Konoha 12 (with the exception of Sasuke, of course) were to be meeting up with them.

"Hey, it took you guys long enough!" the more feral looking one of the group, Kiba Inuzaka, yelled. "You know how long we've been waitin'?"

"I have to agree with Kiba." Neji said. "We really were waiting quite awhile."

"I apologize for the three of us being late." Shikamaru said, before he looked at Neji. "Did you explain the situation to everyone?"

Neji shook his head. "I thought it would be too difficult to explain it in words. I just told them that something happened to Naruto, and to expect the unexpected."

He sighed. "Troublesome Hyuga..."

"Um..." the purple-haired, lavender-eyed beauty, Hinata Hyuga, spoke up, "h-has something bad happened t-to N-Naruto?"

"Like Neji said, it would be too troublesome to tell you, so he's just gonna show you." He turned to Naruto/Ichigo. "Hey, if you don't mind, you mind coming out now?"

He nodded. "Sure thing." He looked at Rock Lee. "Hey, you mind catching the body, when I separate?" Lee nodded, and went behind him. "Okay. Here goes." He closed his eyes and concentrated. "SPIRITUAL DISPEL!" And with that, the body of Naruto Uzumaki fell down into Lee's arms, and standing before them was the Shinigami form of Ichigo Kurosaki. "Hey, what's up?" Ichigo said. "I'm Ichigo Kurosaki." They all stood there with their jaws gaped open at the sight they just saw. Well... not all of them. Hinata, of course, just fainted from the sight.

"Aww man!" Kiba exclaimed, helping Shino with Hinata. "She really needs to stop doing that."

"Does that always happen?" Ichigo asked no one in particular. They all nodded.

"So wait," the heavy-set one, Chouji Akamichi said, "there's another spirit inside of Naruto, besides him and the Kyubi?"

Shikamaru shook his head 'no'. "Nope. This one's a guest in his body temporarily."

"Interesting sword..." The brown-haired weapon mistress of Konoha, Tenten, said as she gawked at his Zanpaktuo. "How do you use it without a hilt?"

"So, you're not Naruto," the blond-haired, blue eyed beauty, Ino Yamanaka chimed in, "but, it's obvious, you're not a ninja with that outfit. So what are you, exactly?"

"I'm a Shinigami." Ichigo replied, causing everyone(except Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, and Lee, of course) to freeze and jump back a few feet.

"A-A what?" they yelled, in surprise.

"A-are you here to take us?" Chouji asked.

He sighed. "No, I'm not here to take anybody." he replied. "I don't even know how I got here."

"What do you mean you 'don't know how you got here'?" Ino said, raising an eyebrow.

Ichigo retold the events of the past few days to the shinobi. "Interesting." Shino said. "To think, you're a shinigami from another world, I guess. What do you plan to do?"

"I'm planning on staying in Naruto's body, until we can figure out a way to get me home."

Meanwhile, as the meeting between Ichigo and the Konoha 11 was taking place, a group of people were approaching the Konoha gate. "This is the entrance to Konoha, huh?" one of them said. "Yes. Come. Let's go meet with the Hokage, immediately."

"You and your lieutenants can go ahead." Another one said. "My group and I have some research to conduct on that rift. We'll head to the Sound Village. I'll contact you on the Soul Pagers if I find out anything."

"You do that. Now, let's meet this Hokage person. All this traveling is really tiring me out."

"You're so lazy, you know that?"

"Oh! You're so mean. I know you don't mean that."

"Halt! Who goes there?" a voice not known to them shouted, as they turned to the gate's check-in post. "Please state your name and business in Konohagkure, please." One of the guards, Izumo Kamizuki said.

"Oh, of course. I am Jushiro Ukitake." the 13th division captain said. "These are my subordinates, Kiyone Kotetsu and Sentaro Kotsubaki."

"I am Shunsui Kyoraku, and this is my lovely assistant, Nanao Ise." the 8th division captain said, smiling at his lieutenant... while Nanao just glared at him. "We need to see-" Suddenly, it dawned on them. "Wait. You can see us?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be able to?" Izumo's partner, Kotetsu Hagane, asked.

"Because of what we are." Ukitake said. "You see, we are shinigami."

That froze them up. "Sh-Shinigami?!" Kotetsu stuttered, in fear.

Kyoraku grinned. "Yep. All five of us. I know it sounds crazy, but if all five of us claim it, is it really that crazy?"

"He has a point, Kotetsu." Izumo said. "Well... are you here to take people?"

"No, my friends." Ukitake said, as he smiled warmly. "We here to see your village leader, Hokage, I believe it's called. A situation has come up, and we believe your leader can help us."

"Of course. Please, follow me." Izumo said.

Shunsui looked over at Nanao. "Hey, Nanao. Why don't you have a look around the village? Take some time away from me?"

"Any time away from you is a blessing." Nanao replied, as she started to walk away.

"Kiyone, Sentarou. Why don't you two do the same?" Jushiro recommended.

"Yes sir!" Kiyone replied. "I'll come back with a full report of the city for you!"

"I'll come back with a more detailed report, better than hers!" Sentarou interrupted.

"No, it won't!"

"Yes, it will!" They began arguing, continuing their rivalry for Ukitake's approval. When suddenly,

"Hey, you two." Kotetsu interrupted them. "Everyone's already gone."

"HUH?!"

Meanwhile, Nanao was walking through the village, taking in the sights and enjoying her time away from her Captain. 'This is such a nice village.' She thought. 'It's hard to believe that they train and employ shinobi here.'

She looked to the left of her, and saw that numerous stands and several festival lights were being set up. 'I wonder what's going to happen here. It looks like they're preparing for a festival of some sorts. What's the occasion?'

As she walked on for a while longer, she came upon a clearing, where eleven people and a dog were sitting. One of them, clad in orange and black was standing and talking to all of them. 'Interesting. I wonder what they're talking about over there." She started to walk over there, when suddenly one of them, a beautiful blond-haired, blue eyed girl, clad in purple, called out to her.

"Excuse me," she said, "can we help you?"

"You can see me?" Nanao replied.

"That voice..." the orange one said suddenly. "It can't be..." He turned around to see the woman who owned the familiar voice to him. His eyes widened when he saw her. "NANAO ISE?!"

She raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Um... yes?" She replied. "How do you know me?"

"Oh right, hold on." The orange guy concentrated and yelled "SPIRITUAL DISPEL!!!" The orange guy fell back, and suddenly, before her eyes appeared the familiar sight of...

"ICHIGO KUROSAKI?!"

**Karakura Town**

Ichigo/Naruto and Rukia were on their way home, after meeting up with Hitsugaya and his team, and telling them, not only the events of the past day, but Naruto's story, as well. Naruto was surprised at how well they took it. "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Naruto said.

"You're very pessimistic, you know that?" Rukia chided him.

"Hey, pessimism comes with the territory and responsibility of being a ninja." He told her.

"Oh whatever." she responded, as they arrived at the house. "I'll head up to the room. Be prepared to be attacked by Isshin."

"What? No way." He said. "He learned his lesson from this morning. He won't attack me again."

Rukia giggled from that. "You don't know Isshin."

"Whatever. See you up there." He opened the front door, and as he walked through, he saw Isshin sitting in the recliner in the living room. "Hey, old man."

"Hey yourself." he responded. "Come here and sit with me. There's something I need to ask you."

"Okay." Ichigo/Naruto walked over to the living room, and sat down. "So, what's up?"

"First off, that attack this morning was something else." Isshin said, smiling. "I'm still feeling it. Wow, that hurt."

Ichigo/Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Well, it was nothing really..."

"That combination was really impressive, I must say. With that, that brings me to my question."

"Your question?"

"Yes." he said, as he looked him, straight in the eye. "Can you tell me where my son, Ichigo Kurosaki, is?"

Ichigo/Naruto's eyes widened. "Uh-oh..."

* * *

**Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo...**

"So, Uzumaki's in that town now, is he?" Orochimaru said, after Kabuto gave his full report.

"Yes, my lord." Kabuto replied. "And it appears that he has allies, as well. I, myself, encountered two of them."

"Allies, huh?" Aizen said, as he walked into the room, where Orochimaru and his team were occupying. "Tell me, can you describe any of them?"

"Yes, of course." Kabuto said, as he adjusted his glasses. "One was an attractive female, with orange-brown hair, with large breasts. The other was a male with black hair and glasses, calling himself a 'Quincy' or something." He remembered his fight with the male. "He's someone I'd like to challenge again. The bastard..."

"Is there a problem?" Orochimaru asked.

"Your problem has hooked up with part of my problem." Aizen responded. "This is most disconcerting. I can send some help with you when you go-"

"He's mine."

The three of them turned to see Sasuke Uchiha standing right in another doorway, listening to the entire conversation. "Sasuke?"

"I already told you once before, Orochimaru." He said, as he turned towards them. "Naruto Uzumaki is mine, and mine alone. I will be the one who kills Naruto..., and my brother."

'Now, that's angst...' Aizen thought."Okay then. I'll have some others accompany you to-"

"I'm going alone. My skills and chakra should be more than enough to take down these gnats."

Orochimaru smiled. "Very well. Go, Sasuke. Go forth, and destroy Naruto Uzumaki!"

He nodded. "Hmmph. Not a problem. That dobe won't make it back to Konoha."

* * *

Sasuke's headed to Karakura Town! How will Naruto handle this? And now that Ichigo's been located by the Soul Society, what's the next move? All this and will be answered next time. Until then, read and review, please!

OH! Guess what? The first chapter to the side story is due to be up in a week. Keep on the lookout for "Universal Switch: Red Dawn in Soul Society"! Later!


	8. Discoveries and Arrivals

_**Disclaimer:** You know who owns **Naruto,** and who owns **Bleach**, and the answer is not me. I'm just some fanfic writer, who had a crazy idea._

_**A/N:** Wow. How long has it been since I updated? A while right? I apologize to my readers for the long-ass delay. Life has its way of kicking your ass and making you do late updates, or in my case, REALLY late updates. So, again, I'm sorry. As this is being posted, the next chapter is being written. _

_Oh, and as for the Side Story, it's still being worked on. I promise that it'll be out soon... I hope..._

_Anyways, here's the next chapter. I hope y'all like it!

* * *

_

**Universal Switch! **

**By Southern Shinigami**

**Chapter 8: Discoveries and Arrivals

* * *

**

_Last time..._

_He opened the front door, and as he walked through, he saw Isshin sitting in the recliner in the living room. "Hey, old man."_

"_Hey yourself." he responded. "Come here and sit with me. There's something I need to ask you."_

"_Okay." Ichigo/Naruto walked over to the living room, and sat down. "So, what's up?"_

"_First off, that attack this morning was something else." Isshin said, smiling. "I'm still feeling it. Wow, that hurt."_

_Ichigo/Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Well, it was nothing really..."_

"_That combination was really impressive, I must say. With that, that brings me to my question."_

"_Your question?"_

"_Yes." he said, as he looked him, straight in the eye. "Can you tell me where my son, Ichigo Kurosaki, is?"_

_Ichigo/Naruto's eyes widened. "Uh-oh..."

* * *

_

_**Now**_

"Wha-What are you talking about?" Naruto denied. "I'm right here, jiji!"

Isshin just smiled. "No, he isn't." he replied. "That's just his body. It's not what makes him, him. Where's his soul, my friend?" Suddenly, he slapped himself on the forehead. "Oh, stupid me! I forgot something! Wait right there, I'll be right back." He walked up the stairs, and into Ichigo's room, where he found Rukia waiting for him.

"Y-you're not Ichigo..." she said, shockingly to Isshin.

"No, I'm not, Miss Kuchiki." he replied. "You mind coming downstairs? The spirit in my son's body and I are talking, and we're missing you. I'll answer your questions down there." She followed Isshin down to the kitchen, where Naruto was waiting. "Good." Isshin said. "Now, that we're all here, anyone care to explain what's going on here?" Naruto and Rukia explained everything that's happened up until this point, including the attack from Otogakure. After their explanation, he sighed.

"You know," he said, "any normal, sane parent, or person even, wouldn't believe a single word of any of what you told me." He smiled at the two of them, and winked. "Good thing, I'm neither normal, nor sane, huh?" They were confused. "I just needed confirmation of what I heard from Kisuke Urahara."

"Urahara? You mean ol' Hat and Clogs?" Naruto said.

"Wait a minute." Rukia chimed in, with the most logical question at the moment. "How do you know Kisuke Urahara?"

Isshin smiled and nodded. "Good question, Miss Kuchiki." He took out a candy dispenser from his pocket. "Allow me to show you."

'That's a Soul Candy dispenser!' Rukia thought. 'If he has one of those,' Her eyes suddenly went wide. 'then he's a-' Isshin popped the candy into his mouth, and suddenly, before their very eyes, were two Isshins. One was wearing Khaki pants, a hawaiian shirt, and a lab coat. The other Isshin was wearing a Shinigami uniform, and a Zanpakuto, at his side. "You..." Rukia was speechless. "you're... you're a-"

"Yep. You guessed it." He replied, with a smile. "I am, indeed a Shinigami. Surprised?"

"To say the least!" She scanned him over, confirming he was the real deal, but then, she saw his left shoulder, and saw something white was wrapped around it, and noticed the insignia that covered. "Is that what I-"

He nodded before she could say anything. "Yep. I was once a Captain. Bet you didn't expect this, now did you?"

"But...but...but, it's impossible!" She protested. "There are no records of anyone with your name , as a Captain of the Gotei 13 Protection Squads!"

Isshin smiled. "No records that you know of, you mean."

"Wait a minute!" Naruto interrupted, obviously aggravated. "What the hell does this all mean? Yeah, you're a Shinigami, and your son is missing. Whoopee! Well, now what? Look, I'm sorry that I'm not Ichigo. But, until I find a way back to my own body in Konoha, this is where I am!"

"Now, hold on a second, Naruto." Isshin replied. "I don't have a problem with you inhabiting my son for awhile, especially since you have no idea how this happened in the first place." He sighed. "I'm just worried for my son. I care for all of my children."

Rukia scoffed at that one. "Yeah right! I don't see you attacking Karin or Yuzu on a daily basis!"

"You don't understand," he tried to defend himself, "Ichigo and I have an agreement."

"An agreement!?" Now, it was Naruto's turn to scoff. "I don't think anyone in their right mind would agree to being attacked on a constant basis."

"Anyways, that's neither here nor there." Isshin said, attempting to steer away from the topic of child abuse, while getting back into his own gigai. "What matters is that I know who you are, and that I don't mind that you're staying here, until Kisuke can figure out how to get you back." He walked over to Naruto, put his hand on his shoulder, and smiled warmly. "Consider yourself, one of the family!"

Naruto smiled back. Never had anyone treated him like this in his life. And no one, aside from the Ichiraku's, Jiraiya, and Tsunade, ever considered him family. "Thank you, Mr. Kurosaki."

He shook his head. "Nah, just call me Isshin, or Dad, when you're in Ichigo's body." He replied. "We have to keep it up, especially around Yuzu and Karin."

He nodded. "Right."

"And that goes for you, Rukia." he said, looking at Rukia. "I know you're my son's Shinigami partner, so as long as you're partners, you're welcome here, too."

She smiled at him, too. "Thank you, Isshin."

"Now I just have one rule," Isshin said. "Dinner is at seven, don't be late, unless, you know, necessary."

They both nodded. "Right."

Isshin, then, put both of his hands on Naruto/Ichigo's shoulders. "There IS one more condition though, Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Really? What's that?"

"My friend," He lowered his head down, and whispered in his right ear.

"Never let your guard down..."

And then, suddenly, Naruto found Isshin's right knee in the stomach of Ichigo's stomach. Isshin, then, proceeded to throw Naruto/Ichigo through a closet door. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" He laughed and pointed at him. All Rukia could do was stand there, stunned and in shock. After all of that talk and kindness, Isshin threw him through a door!

"WHAT THE HELL, OLD MAN?!?!" Naruto yelled, outraged, as he pulled himself out of the splintered door and junk from the closet.. "What was the purpose of all of that? I thought everything was fine now?"

"It is, dear Naruto!" Isshin said, as he laughed.

"But, why did you throw him through a door?" Rukia said, in disbelief.

"Ha ha!" he replied. "Because, he's a shinobi, and what better person to keep me fresh, for when my son returns!"

He pulled himself up, and walked over to Isshin. "Well then, if that's the case..." Ichigo's fist was forced into the gut of Isshin, and as soon as he pulled it out, he kicked him in the face, sending him crashing into the sofa. "IF THAT'S HOW YOU WANNA DO IT, DON'T BLAME ME IF YOU GET HURT, JIJI!!"

"Ohhhhhhhh..." was all that could be heard from Isshin, groaning behind the sofa.

* * *

**Otogakure**

Finally arriving at the point of origin, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, 12th division Captain, his lieutenant/creation, Nemu, and his team began to search the area where their data stated the rift between dimensions took place. "We must figure out how this strange occurrence took place." Kurotsuchi stated. "This is "a chance of a lifetime" study." He looked at Nemu, who seemed disturbed. "What is it, Nemu? Something off?"

She sighed. "Several things,sir. Aside from the lack of resistance of us entering this territory, I've been detecting an energy signature following us, since we left the Hi no Kuni."

He scoffed at that. "Bah. Have you forgotten what we are? We're Shinigami, you fool! No mortal being should be able to see us. Resistance is nothing! And don't be too concerned with someone following us. It was probably some birds flying in the same direction. Now, stop this nonsensical nonsense, and get to work!"

The area where they were searching was a dank, dark cave, with no evidence stating that this was where the rift had originated from. If this was the place, then the rift had already disappeared, and the only way back for the Shinigami team sent to the Elemental dimensions, was through the Senkai Gate, which, at present time, had been locked down by order of Captain-Commander Yamamoto, for some reason, unknown to the team. Kurotsuchi's team began using devices to determine if this were, indeed, the spot of origin. If there were a trace of the rift, it would be known through the scanners. After about an hour, suddenly one of his team members called out. "Captain Kurotsuchi!" the officer said, "I believe I may have discovered something."

Mayuri rushed over to the end of the cave, where the officer was. "Well, what is it?"

"The scanner indicates that there was a tear in the fabric around two days ago." the technician said, moving the scanner around the area. "I picked up that three people went through here the first day, and-" The scanner was picking up something else. "Amazing. I'm also reading that there are several other signatures from yesterday."

Mayuri looked at him. "Several? About how many?"

"Between six or seven. They went through a little under twenty-four hours ago."

"This group went into Hueco Mundo too?"

"No." The tech replied. "They went into..." He lost his breath as soon as he saw the location.

"Well?" the Captain said, getting impatient. "Where did they go?"

"...Soul Society..."

Kurotsuchi face went flush, if you can see it under all that make-up, at the location. "What? Impossible! What is this-" He stopped ranting. Suddenly, he realized that they weren't alone. "There's someone here..." Mayuri looked around. "You might as well come out. We know that you're here." He turned to his team. "Be on your guard. We don't know the first thing about these barbarians."

"Barbarian? This coming from a guy who looks like a clown?" A man with white hair and wearing a red vest, red facepaint, and a weird looking headband came out. "What happened? Got lost from the circus?"

"What?" Mayuri said, slightly infuriated. "How dare you! You, of such insignificance, dare call me a clown?"

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" the man said. "I think you missed your clown car." Suddenly, the man looked over at Nemu. "Why, hello there, cutie. Why is someone, as delightfully gorgeous as yourself, doing in a dank, dark place, like this?"

And then, something happened that no one, not even Captain Kurotsuchi even suspected of happening. Something, that no other shinigami, had never even attempted to accomplish. That's right, Nemu Kurotsuchi, lieutenant of the 12th division, blushed and giggled at the man's comment.

"What the hell?" The captain said. "You smiled at that? You smiled at THAT?" He, then, pointed, angrily, at the man. "Just who in the hell are you, old man?"

The man grinned. "Ahhhh, I have not yet introduced myself, have I?" He started perform some poses. "WELL THEN, ALLOW ME TO DO SO!!! I AM THE TOAD HERMIT SAGE OF MOUNT

MYOBOKUSAN! I AM ALSO KNOWN AS THE GREATEST WRITER IN LAND! I AM ONE OF THE THREE LEGENDARY SANNIN! I AM JIRAIYA!!!"

Mayuri, Nemu, and everyone else just looked at him. "...Okay... back to work, everyone." Everyone in the cave went back to what they were doing.

"HEY! WAIT A MINUTE!" the Toad Sage yelled.

"What is it now?" Mayuri said, visibly irritated. "You're pulling me away from precious and detrimental research! What is it, you insufferable nuisance?"

"Geez." Jiraiya said. "I was just gonna ask who you were. I mean, I introduced myself. Shouldn't you return the favor?"

Kurotsuchi growled. "Curse you beings, and your customs. Fine, I am Mayuri Kurotsuchi, captain of the 12th division of the 13 Gotei protection squads. Happy now?"

"Uh huh." Jiraiya said. "You see, there's an issue with that. I know of every military force or illegal group through my extensive and illustrious spy network. How come I've never heard of you?"

"That's simple, you mascara buffoon. We're not of this world. We are Shinigami. Soul Reapers of the Soul Society!"

That did it. For the first time, not due to a beautiful woman, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage, was speechless. He was face-to-face with those who send souls to the afterlife. "Y-you're what? Shinigami? Are you serious? And, who are you calling a 'mascara buffoon', clown face?"

"What did you-" Suddenly his Soul Pager rang. "Hold on, I have a call." He answered the phone. "Kurotsuchi speaking. What do you want, Kyoraku?"

* * *

**Around the same time, at the Hokage's office, in Konoha...**

"Lord Hokage," Captain Ukitake said, as he and Kyoraku entered the office. "Thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to meet with us." They both bowed in respect. "It is an honor and a privilege. Allow me to introduce ourselves. I am Jushiro Ukitake, and this is my lifelong friend, Shunsui Kyoraku."

The Hokage's chair was turned around facing the window, so they could not see who exactly the Hokage was. "The pleasure is all mine, dear sirs." The Hokage replied. "Now, please, what brings you out to our village?"

"Dear Hokage," Shunsui said, "this realm, as well as two others are involved in sort of a conflict that could damage all three, if not solved."

"Does this have to do with my village being invaded by those Hollow creatures?"

"Hollows?" Shunsui replied. "How do you know what Hollows-" He stopped suddenly. His Soul Pager was ringing. "I have a call. I'll take it out in the hall." He walked out, leaving Ukitake with the Hokage.

"You were attacked by Hollows?" He asked. "When?"

"Yesterday. But, we made it through. Our Jonin and Chunin are pretty strong and were able to see the Hollows, just as I'm able to talk," Suddenly, the Hokage turned around in the chair to reveal herself, for the first time to the Shinigami captain, " and see you, and defeat them." She rose from her chair and walked over to Jushiro. "But, I won't lie to you. We possibly couldn't have made it through without some help."

"Help, Lord, I mean, Lady Hokage?" Ukitake asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. A Shinigami, much like yourself." She replied. "And call me Tsunade, Captain Ukitake."

He immediately remembered that they informed the gate guards that they were Captains. "Right, Tsunade. May I inquire about this Shinigami?"

"He came to us, surprisingly, in the body of one of our most famed shinobi. One who, personally, means a lot to me. We're not sure how he got here, but we are grateful for his help."

Somehow, the 13th division captain had a feeling. A deep feeling that he knew, exactly, who this particular Soul Reaper was, and somehow, it didn't surprise him much that he was somehow brought into this situation. He knew he would be a part of this somehow, not just him, but the rest of his team back in his world. But, he never imagined this. But, then again, it didn't surprise him, that he'd be the one, either. He had a knack for getting into trouble, like this. But, he just had to ask. "May I ask his name, Lady Tsunade?"

"Yes. His name is-"

Suddenly, Captain Kyoraku came right back in. "Jushiro! I just got a call from Nanao. You're not gonna believe who's here!" He, then, got a look at Tsunade, and the Shunsui Charm came on "Oh my. And, just, who is this heavenly lady?"

Ukitake just rolled his eyes. "Shunsui, this is the Hokage, Lady Tsunade."

He smiled, as he walked up to her, took her hand, and kissed it. "Well then. I didn't know the ruler of a village that trained and hired ninja could be so young and exquisitely beautiful."

'Oh boy.' Jushiro thought, rolling his eyes. 'Here we go...'

Tsunade blushed. "Why, thank you." she replied. "I didn't know a shinigami captain could be so ruggedly handsome, such as yourself, Captain Kyoraku."

"Please, please. Call me Shunsui."

"Anyway, Lady Tsunade." Ukitake said, trying to put an end this scene. "You were about to tell us the name of the Shingami?"

"Oh! Right!" She said, coming out of her trance. "His name is-" Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Excuse me, please. Come in!"

Entering the room were Tsunade's pink-haired apprentice, Sakura Haruno, Konoha's noble Blue Beast, Rock Lee, who was carrying the body of Naruto Uzumaki, the strategist Shikamaru Nara, Kyoraku's lieutenant, Nanao Ise, and...

"I knew it. I just knew you were involved in this somehow." Captain Ukitake said.

"So, it looks like Nanao wasn't kidding." Kyoraku said. "But, then again, like Jushiro said, it was more than likely you were involved."

"It looks like the party's all here, now that you've arrived, hasn't it?" Tsunade added.

And, at the same time, the three of them said his name.

"Ichigo Kurosaki."

A surprised look came over Ichigo's face. "Captain Ukitake! Captain Kyoraku! What are you two doing here? Does Soul Society know what's going on? What exactly is going on?"

Ukitake sweatdropped. "Hold on, Ichigo! One question at a time!" The captains explained why they were there, and what Soul Society's involvement in all of this was. In turn, Ichigo explained what happened to him, and the events over the last couple of days, including the Hollow attack on the town by Gin Ichimaru. Suddenly, though, Shunsui remembered something.

"Oh right! I got a message from Hitsugaya, through Soul Society. It appears that they found the other soul." Kyoraku said.

"I have a feeling," Tsunade said, "but let me ask. What is the other soul's name?"

"Um... his name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Naruto's over in his world?" Sakura asked. "Can we go get him?"

"That's a no-go, my pink-haired beauty." Shunsui replied. "It appears that Soul Society has locked all travel between the dimensions. Something's going on there, and they're being pretty vague about it. Anyways, Hitsugaya also said that they was an attack there before his team got there, but your friends took care of them, Ichigo."

"That's a relief. Was it Aizen?"

"No, actually. It was someone else. The attack was lead by a ninja, like the ones here, just with a different headband. Said his name was, um, Kabuto Yakushi, I think?"

"KABUTO YAKUSHI?" Sakura, Tsunade, Shikamaru, and Lee exclaimed.

"Then this means that this whole thing was executed by-" Shikamaru started.

"Orochimaru..." Tsunade finished.

"Who?" Ukitake and Ichigo asked.

"Hey, before you forget, you should call Captain Kurotsuchi, and let him know what's going on, like you said you would, Captain Kyoraku." Nanao reminded him.

"Good idea, my sweet Nanao!" He exclaimed. "Oh, I'm surrounded by such smart and beautiful women, but my Nanao reminds me who's number one in my heart."

"Just do it, you buffoon!" She said, as she whacked him in the head, with a large book.

* * *

**Back with Kurotsuchi and Jiraiya, in Otogakure...**

"You say you found the soul that was sent here?" Mayuri said, as he talked to Captain Kyoraku, through his Soul Pager. "Him? That boy really does have a knack for getting in trouble, doesn't he? Yes, well, I'm still researching who was it that went- Orochimaru, you say?"

"OROCHIMARU?!" Kurotsuchi, suddenly found himself grabbed, at the shirt by the, now furious, Toad Sage. "That snake bastard? What does he, no, what does the Sound have to do with anything?"

"Get off of me, you buffoon!" He yelled, as he shook him off. "Sorry. Just someone wearing way too much red mascara."

"It's face paint, you clown!"

"Anyways, there's something that's got me. Seven other people traveled through the dimensional warp the other day. No, they didn't go to Hueco Mundo. They went to Soul Society. Yes. Yes, I know. I haven't identified them yet. But, I'm about to using one of my machines. Yes. I'll let you know when I find something. Kurotsuchi out."

Jiraiya looked at Kurotsuchi. "So?"

"So what?" he replied. "You overheard the conversation, didn't you? Whoever this Orochimaru character is, he's apparently formed an alliance with our enemy, Soskue Aizen, to go all the way to Hueco Mundo."

"Hueco Mundo?" Jiraiya said. "Where or what the hell is that? If this involves Orochimaru, then you have some explaining to do. Seriously, what's going on?"

Kurotsuchi thought for a minute. It was obvious that this man knew more about Aizen's new friend, than he did. It would be of great help to get information about this person from this source, even if the source was a mascara-wearing buffoon. "I propose a deal. You tell me about Orochimaru, and I'll tell you everything about why we're here. Do we have a deal?"

Jiraiya sighed. It bothered him that he had to deal with a man who looked like a circus clown gone bad, but if it helped to deal with that snake bastard, then oh, he's done even dumber things. "Deal."

"Good! Now give me a minute, while I set up this imaging device to see who went through the dimensional warp."

After a few minutes, Mayuri's device was ready. When he turned it on, he set it to show who was in the cave when the warp was first opened. The images it showed were of three people. "Okay, who are those three?"

Jiraiya knew right off the bat who they were. "The one with the yellow eyes and purple skin is Orochimaru."

"He looks like a level 9 pedophile to me." Nemu said.

He snickered from that one. "Anyways, the one with the grey hair is Kabuto Yakushi."

"Why does he look so familiar?" Kurotsuchi wondered out loud. "I think I saw him on that show the humans watch, 'Dragon Ball Z', I believe, Nemu?"

"He does bear a resemblance to the character known as Trunks."

"Anyways, the last one is Sasuke Uchiha." Jiraiya finished.

"He looks bored. Very bored." Kurotsuchi said. "They'd make excellent test subjects! Anyways, let me just fast forward to the most recent event." He forwarded the machine to the last time the warp was active. It showed seven figures, ready to enter the warp. But, it was not the fact that there seven people that shocked Jiraiya, but who the seven were, for you see, Jiraiya identified who they were by what they were wearing. The figures were wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them.

"Oh shit..." he said. "Akatsuki..."

* * *

**So, what does Akatsuki have to do with anything? Now, that the captains have met with the Hokage, what's gonna happen in Konoha next? Now, that Isshin's accepted Naruto into the house, how's life gonna be in the Kurosaki household? And what of Sasuke?

* * *

**

**Late Night... Karakura Town...**

Night has fallen on Karakura, ending the day. Her residents are resting comfortably in their homes, resting for the start of a new day. However, the still of the night is broken, with the arrival of a lone figure.

"Naruto Uzumaki..."

Standing on the highest point in town, the man with the hair of a raven, looked upon the area, with vengeance in his eyes.

"On my honor, as the last Uchiha," he said, as he took out his sword and pointed it out toward the city, "I will find you," he jumped off the pillar, "and I will kill you."

_And thus, the blade falls a third time...

* * *

_

**End Notes**: And, after a long, long time, this chapter is done. Again, sorry for the delay. But, I promise that I will NOT abandon this story. I have exactly what I want to happen playing out, and there will be some surprises. I wanna thank those who have kept up with this, and who have patiently endured the wait. I promise the next chapter will not take so long. I thank those who found this story, and have either favorited the story, added an alert to it, reviewed it, or a combination of the three. Anyways, thanks a lot, and be on the lookout for the next installment of Universal Switch! Don't forget to review, please. Later!


	9. That's What I Forgot!

**Disclaimer**: Just a reminder. I don't own Naruto or Bleach. Or for that matter, anything else that I might put in here that's from a different anime or such.

A/N: Okay. I know that I deserve rocks, kunai, and such thrown at me. It's been over a year since I worked on this fic, and it's not my fault… totally. My original laptop died, with not only the next chapter on it, but the entire Side Story I was working on, so not only do I not have the original chapter nine, or side story, but I had to rewrite it. I want to say thank you to those who have reviewed and favorited this story or put it on Story Alert. I'm sorry it took so long for me to come back. So, yeah, I'm a jerk. I'm a jerk and I'm sorry. But, after almost a year, here it is. This fic is almost complete on paper, but I still have some kinks to work out. Anyways, after a long time, here's chapter nine!

**Universal Switch! **

**By Southern Shinigami**

**Chapter 9:**

_Last time…_

_"He looks bored. Very bored." Kurotsuchi said. "They'd make excellent test subjects! Anyways, let me just fast forward to the most recent event." He forwarded the machine to the last time the warp was active. It showed seven figures, ready to enter the warp. But, it was not the fact that there seven people that shocked Jiraiya, but who the seven were, for you see, Jiraiya identified who they were by what they were wearing. The figures were wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them._

_"Oh shit..." he said. "Akatsuki..."

* * *

_

_"Naruto Uzumaki..."_

_Standing on the highest point in town, the man with the hair of a raven, looked upon the area, with vengeance in his eyes._

_"On my honor, as the last Uchiha," he said, as he took out his sword and pointed it out toward the city, "I will find you," he jumped off the pillar, "and I will kill you."_

_And thus, the blade falls a third time...

* * *

_

_**NOW**_

**Karakura Town High School – The next day**

The day had started out pretty well for Naruto Uzumaki, despite still being bound to the body of Ichigo Kurosaki. Old Man Isshin didn't attack him this morning, since Goat Beard left early for a meeting, Yuzu had made a really good breakfast, and school didn't drag on as long as he thought it would. In fact, he was even starting to pick up on some of the things that were being taught. He had to keep up Ichigo's appearance, after all. Especially after he found out that Ichigo was a above average student. Anything that he didn't understand, Rukia and the others helped him out. All in all, it wasn't a bad day, and he was pretty much enjoying himself. That was until…

**KWACK!**

Suddenly, a blond-haired guy with buck-teeth wearing a beret, punched Ichigo/Naruto right in the face, knocking him to the hallway floor of the second floor of the school. "ICHIGO KUROSAKI! JUST WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!"

That put an end to Naruto's great mood, as any punch in the face would. "JUST WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, BUCKTEETH!" He yelled back. "YOU DON'T GO PUNCHING PEOPLE IN THE FACE, JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT!"

"BUCKTEETH? WHO IN THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, NOT KEEPING TO THE DEAL, TEME?" The guy said, getting increasingly angry.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, BAKA?" Ichigo/Naruto said, also increasing in anger. "I'VE NEVER MET YOU IN MY LIFE!"

At that moment, Rukia, Chad, Orihime, and Ishida came running to see the commotion. What they saw were two brightly-haired colored idiots yelling at each other. Suddenly, after a few moments, Uryu spoke up. "Rukia, you forgot to tell Shinji Hirako didn't you? About what's going on?"

She sighed. "To tell the truth, it kinda slipped my mind to tell him, and this is where it left us."

Suddenly, more and more students started to come out and see the arguing duo, including Tatsuki and Chiziru. "What the hell?" Tatsuki said.

"What's going on here?" Chiziru added.

"Two idiots are arguing." Rukia put plainly.

"Um, I don't think we should let this continue." Orihime said. "It's really starting to draw a crowd, and the teachers aren't going to like this much. Oh, I know! I'll stop them!" She ran over to them. "Um, excuse me, guys?" Surprisingly, they both stopped, and paid attention to her. "Hey, can you stop arguing in the hallway? The teachers are going have you two sent to Detention, if you don't stop."

The arguing did stop. Only because Shinji stopped focusing on Naruto/Ichigo, and started focusing on Orihime. "Oh, my dear Orihime, my one true love!" Shinji said, as he dropped to one knee. "For you, my dear, there's nothing I won't do!" Orihime smiled and laughed nervously.

Naruto/Ichigo, then, punched Shinji in the face. "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU MORON?"

"MORON? WHO YOU CALLIN' A MORON?" And the arguing continued, as Rukia sighed. Later, after a separation/intervention by Chad, and an explanation by Rukia, everyone, minus, Tatsuki and Chiziru, met up at their usual meeting place, the school roof. "So, you mean to tell me, that due to some freak cosmic accident, the soul inside of Ichigo, is NOT Ichigo Kurosaki, but of some guy named Naruto Uzumaki?"

"Pretty much. At least, that's what we've gathered from Urahara." Ishida replied.

"And who're you callin' some guy?" Naruto shouted. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki! The world's greatest ninja, and the future Hokage of Konoha, dattebayo!"

"Riiight." He ignored him, and turned his attention back to Ishida and the others. "So, where is Ichigo, anyways?"

"Well, to tell the truth, we don't really know." Rukia stated. "But apparently, it's enough to get the entire Soul Society up in arms, and for them to send a Captain, his Lieutenant, and a 3rd and 5th seat."

"That tenth division captain, right?" Shinji asked, and she nodded. "Well we can't continue without Ichigo, since this is for him and all."

"So, what will you do?" Ishida asked, knowing everyone wanted to ask it. "You going into hiding, until we get Ichigo back?"

"Nah. I gotta keep up appearances and such, so I'll be around. Besides…" He, then, turned to Orihime, with stars in his eyes. "The thought of being away from my dear Orihime is more than sheer torture!" She sweatdropped, as did everyone else.

"Well, we should tell you to watch out for anything strange, like ninjas wearing a headband, like Naruto's, but with a clef note symbol on it." Rukia said. "We just fought a bunch of those guys a couple of nights ago."

Shinji smirked. "Thanks for the advice, but I doubt they're any match for us."

"Still, be careful, Shinji." Orihime said, unknowingly encouraging him.

"Hey you! Naruto!"

"Whaddya want?" Naruto replied to him.

"Watch out for these four, and they'll watch out for you." He turned around and began to walk off. "See you around, Naruto Uzumaki…"

* * *

**Meanwhile**, somewhere else in Karakura, Sasuke Uchiha was searching for his former teammate, to do what his current sensei wanted him to do: kill the jinchūriki of the Kyubi no Yoko. _This town is so much different than the town back home, _Sasuke thought_. No matter, I'll still find that loser and kill him._ He noticed that his chakra was acting funny, so he decided to search carefully and slowly. _This world must be messing up my chakra. I have to find him and get this done quickly. _After a few blocks, he came up on a gang of thugs, eyeing him hard.

"You must have a lot of guts wearing that get-up." The leader of the group, who was wearing shades, a tanktop, and a pair of blue jeans, said. "Just who do you think you are? A samurai, or something? Mitsuhide Akechi? You think you Kenshin Himura in this bitch?" His entire group laughed. There were about ten of them there, aside from their leader.

"Heh." Sasuke said, with that Uchiha arrogance. "I'm really not in the mood for this crap, so get out of my way or else."

"Oh ho ho ho!" The leader laughed. "We got ourselves a tough guy, don't we?" He walked up to Sasuke. "You think you're a tough guy, do you?"

"I'll say it one more time." He said, as he put his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Get out of my way."

He got way up in Sasuke's face and grinned. "Whaddya gonna do? Cut me with your sword?"

That entire group laughed, and that pushed Sasuke over the edge. He didn't have time for this nonsense, so to get rid of them quickly, he activated the first level of his Cursed Seal of Heaven.

At least, he tried to.

_What's going on here_? He thought. _Why can't I activate the cursed seal_? Whatever it was that was affecting his chakra, was also affecting the mark, and that left him, not only, without Orochimaru's power, but without ninjutsu, genjutsu, and the power of his Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan. But, it still didn't stop him from thinking he could beat these guys, easily. _Oh well, like I even need that to handle these guys. _He figured he didn't need it. He had the taijutsu of his family, the academy, and of Orochimaru. He would win easily…

Or so he thought.

"GET 'EM!" Their boss yelled, and before Sasuke could react, they were about to bear down on him. With a few moves from his taijutsu set, he took down three of them, but then he was hit from behind, and the remaining seven proceeded to stomp him straight into the ground. They kicked him in the ribs and the abdomen, until he started coughing up blood, then they went to work on his arms and legs, until his left arm and right leg were broken. He screamed to the heavens in pain. What was going on? This wasn't supposed to happen to him! He's was an Uchiha, an elite! How were these common thugs taking care of him so easily? And just when he thought it couldn't get worse, one of them picked up his sword, and passed it over to the leader.

"You know," he said, "it's been illegal to carry swords in Japan for the past 200 years." He, then, pointed the sword down towards Sasuke's heart. "Oh well, I guess we gotta teach you a lesson about the law, now don't we?" He began to thrust the blade straight down towards Sasuke, as the last, true Uchiha waited for death.

_It can't end here,_ he thought. _Not like this!_

And for him… it didn't.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a figure leaped out and kicked the leader in the face, knocking him into a nearby fence. The rest of the gang immediately attacked the one who offended their leader, but they were taken down with ease. Suddenly, the leader got up, still clutching Sasuke's sword. "Just who do you think you are, attacking me like that? You know who you're messing with?" The figure didn't answer. "Well fine, I'LL TEACH YOU SOME MANNERS!" He ran towards the figure, with the sword, with the attempt to kill the person, but the attack was dodged and the figure began to attack him back, and, then, thrust kick the leader of the gang, straight in the chin, knocking him out and into another fence. The figure, then, began to walk over to Sasuke.

"Y-you…" Sasuke said, before he lost consciousness.

* * *

**Meanwhile**, in Otokagure, Kurotsuchi looked at Jiraiya, like he had gone insane. "I'm sorry, I must be losing my mind." Mayuri said. "Did you just say 'red dawn'?"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You said Akatsuki, as in red dawn. What the hell does that even mean, mascara man?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "No, you moron. Akatsuki is-"

Kurotsuchi's phone rang again. It was Ukitake, again. "What do you want, Captain Ukitake?"

"You hung up on me. I was just wondering what was going on." He replied. "You're on speaker, by the way, so the whole room can hear what the situation is."

Mayuri growled. "Okay, fine. The old man was about to tell me who was it who went through the gate." He looked at Jiraiya. "You might as well get it over with, old man."

Jiraiya protested. "I'm not old, clown face."

"Heh, could've fooled me…"

Jiraiya rolled his eyes. "Anyways, Kurotsuchi's machine ha-"

"Machine?" Kurotsuchi interrupted. "This isn't a machine. It's an invention, you dolt!" Everyone listening on speaker, sweatdropped.

He sighed. "Fine. His INVENTION has picked up the source of the rift and how it was caused. It was determined that Orochimaru used, yet another, forbidden jutsu, to open up a rift into, what the Shinigami call "Hueco Mundo"." With Orochimaru, aside a group of Sound ninja, Kabuto Yakushi, his right-hand man, and Sasuke Uchiha, traitor to Konohagakure, had went through the rift."

Tsunade sighed. "Why am I not surprised?"

Kyoraku raised his eyebrow. "Who's Orochimaru?"

"Orochimaru is an S-Class ninja, who was formerly, a member of Konoha, before he betrayed the village, after he wasn't suggested to become the fourth Hokage, and lost the chance." Tsunade summed up. "His goal is to obtain all knowledge of jutsu, and use it to take over the Fire Country, and the rest of the world."

"You don't think he might go to team-up with Aizen, do you?" Ukitake said to Kyoraku.

"Who knows." Shunsui replied. "According to the information we got from Captain Hitsugaya, it's possible that he may already have, with the attacks here and in Karakura Town."

"Is this Aizen guy powerful?" Shikamaru piped in.

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, he is. He's pretty strong. And pretty dangerous."

"He used to be the captain of the 5th division, until he went rogue," Nanao Ise added, "along with two other captains, Gin Ichimaru, formerly of the 3rd division and Kaname Tosen, formerly of the 9th division."

"Not good…" Sakura said. "Not good at all."

"There's more." Jiraiya said. "A few hours after Snake Bastard and his gang went in, some more people followed in."

The ninja in the Hokage's office gulped. They had a bad feeling about this. "Do we want to know who?" Kakashi replied. "I hope it's not who you're thinking about, is it?"

"Yep. Them." Jiraiya replied. "Akatsuki." Murmurs of sarcastic "great" reigned in from the ninja in the room.

"Um, can you tell us who Akatsuki is, so us Shinigami can crap ourselves, also?" Kyoraku asked, cynically.

"Akatsuki is a criminal organization of S-Class missing-nin," Jiraiya said, "and is the most wanted group in all of the shinobi world. Their main goal is to collect all of the tailed beasts for their plan of world domination."

"S-Class?" Nanao said. "What's S-Class?"

"S-Class is the designation that we give extremely high powered missing-nin." Tsunade explained, as she tossed Kyoraku a copy of the Bingo Book. "As you can see, they're extremely dangerous, and should be approached with caution."

"And these guys entered a portal, that took them where?" Shunsui asked, as he handed the book to Nanao.

"Let me check that out, give me a few seconds." Kurotsuchi replied. He checked the data, to see where it was that Akatsuki went, and… "Huh… this isn't good."

"What does it say, Captain Kurotsuchi?" Ukitake asked.

"It appears that Akatsuki, that group of S-Class criminals, did not end up in Hueco Mundo, or Karakura Town." He replied, in surprising worry. "Instead, they ended up in… Soul Society." Ukitake, Kyoraku, and Nanao couldn't believe what they were hearing! These dangerous criminals, who were threatening to rule the shinobi world, were now a bunch of ryoka, in their home? This was bad, really bad. With them in the Leaf Village, and Hitsugaya and his team in Karakura Town, and the fact that the Senkaimon were locked down from the Soul Society side, what was going to happen?

Meanwhile, at Los Noches, in Hueco Mundo, Orochimaru was talking with Aizen and Gin.

"Amazing," Aizen said, "you have a technique that allows you to raise the dead, and puts them under your control."

"You ninjas are amazing." Gin added. Suddenly, someone came in and went over to Gin and Aizen, whispered something to them, and then left. "Well now. This is interesting."

"Oh?" The rogue Sannin, Orochimaru, went. "What's interesting?"

"It seems that some others from your dimension have infiltrated the Soul Society." Aizen said.

That somewhat confused Orochimaru. "Others?" he said. "What others?"

"They, apparently, came through a gate, like you and yours did. A bunch of guys, ninjas, wearing black capes, with red clouds on them." Gin replied, leading to Orochimaru freezing up, like he was shot. "Sound familiar? Friends of yours?"

"Damn it." He replied. "The Akatsuki."

Aizen and Gin looked at each other, and then, him. "The who?"

Orochimaru explained who they are, and Aizen gave thought about it for a minute. "So, what you're saying is, is that these guys are strong?"

"Yes, very strong." He replied.

"And that they're dangerous?"

Orochimaru raised an eyebrow. "Very dangerous. What are you getting at?"

Aizen thought about it again. "You know, I think we should leave them alone. Let them run rampant through the Seiretei. It'll make what we wish to accomplish much easier to do."

"You know, I didn't think about that. Let our enemies destroy each other, while we work on the Leaf and Karakura! Genius!"

"Y'know, speaking of which," Gin chimed in, "we should start planning that, don'tcha know."

"I've got Sasuke in Karakura. He'll take care of your issue, swiftly." Orochimaru replied.

"Sasuke knows when to return, right?" Gin asked. Orochimaru looked at him. "I mean, you guys know that chakra has no effect in the living world, correct?"

Orochimaru turned pale…er, paler. "Uh-oh…"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the gates of the Seiretei, in Soul Society…

Jidambo, the giant guardian of the Seiretei gates, laid in pain. He had never been hit with such an attack! He wasn't sure what just happened, but a bunch of people, apparently ryoka, had just approached the gates, demanding to be let in, claiming they were coming to take over. Jidambo just laughed. "You people must be crazy!" He had said to them. "There's no way you punks are even gonna in here, let alone take over the Soul Society!"

"Do NOT underestimate us." Said the one with the strange red eyes, with black markings, as pupils. "You have no idea who you're dealing with."

"Yeah," said the one who resembled a shark. "So, outta the way!"

He laughed, thinking they were fools. "Alright, I think I'll humor you. Do your worst!"

The red-eyed one looked at him. "Very well." Suddenly, the world went black for Jidambo. He noticed that he was hanging from a wooden cross.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" He yelled. Suddenly, the one with the red-eyes appeared.

"You are in the world of Tsukiyomi. I control the time. I control the space." He drew a sword. "You will be stabbed, with this sword, for the next 72 hours." He, then, proceeded to stab him. Jidambo winced, in pain, as he was constantly stabbed. Suddenly, everything went dark, and then back to the way he was, but, he saw himself hanging from the cross. "You are in the world of Tsukiyomi. I control the time. I control the space. One minute has passed. You have 71 hours and 59 minutes remaining."

"Im-Impossible!" Jidambo exclaimed. It had to be, at least, 24 hours since he was first stabbed. He continued to be stabbed. He, then, blacked out, and woke back up again. This time, there were more of him on the wooden cross, and more of the strange man, with the red eyes.

"Are you surprised. Remember, I control the time and space." He said. "Another minute has passed. You have 71 hours and 58 minutes remaining."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Back in the normal world, the people with the black cloaks were all standing out there, looking at Jidambo. "Let's go in." Itachi Uchiha said. "We've nothing to worry about." The Akatsuki walked into the Seiretei, not knowing what they would be getting into…

And after an extremely, EXTREMELY, long wait, Chapter 9 is DONE! So, what will happen next? What is the plan of the Akatsuki? Do they REALLY intend to take over the Soul Society? What are the plans of Aizen and Orochimaru? Just how do they plan on destroying Konoha and Karakura? And who rescued Sasuke, and why? Was it a good Samaritan? Or someone else? Chapter 10 is in the works, and I promise, it won't take as long! Until next time, read and review, please! Thanks for sticking so long with this! Peace!


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